Heart attack death rates halve from 2001-12 but cancer mortalities rise

But ONS mortality data for period show circulatory disease as overall top cause of deaths in England and WalesDeaths from heart attacks and stroke halved in England and Wales over the first 11 years of this century, while the numbers dying from cancer rose, according to newly published mortality data from the Office for National Statistics.The 21st century mortality files from the ONS contain a vast amount of data not only about the big killers of modern times but also the more surprising and less likely accidental causes of mortality.Only three people died from snake bites, all men, between 2001 and 2012. One man died of dengue fever, and four men and two women from anthrax poisoning over that period.Ischaemic or coronary heart disease was the biggest cause of death, killing 40,557 people in 2012, followed by lung cancer, which caused more than 30,000 deaths, and "unspecified dementia" which was responsible for more than 26,000 and did not include the 8,859 deaths from Alzheimer's disease.Over the 11 years, heart attack deaths dropped from 46,610 in 2001 to 23,085 last year, while stroke deaths fell from 33,918 to 17,024. Better diets, reduced smoking especially after the ban in public areas, and more prompt and effective treatment has brought deaths down.Circulatory disease, which includes heart attacks and strokes, has been the biggest cause of death in the 21st century to date, responsible for a total of 2,114,550 deaths so far while cancers and neoplasms accounted for 1,...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Heart attack Nutrition theguardian.com Office for National Statistics News Health Government data Smoking Society Alzheimer's Cancer UK news Source Type: news