UK takes heart from new heart attack research

Fact: someone dies from a heart attack every six minutes in the UK. Fact: 146,000 people in the UK have a heart attack each year of which 94,000 die. Fact: one third of people who suffer a fatal heart attack die before they can be taken to hospital.

Given these startling facts, it’s heartening to report that new research by the British Heart Foundation has shown that, between 2002 and 2010, the number of people dying from a heart attack fell by around 50%.

This incredible announcement is being attributed in the main to greater attention being given to risk factors such as smoking and weight issues.

Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: “This impressive fall in death rates is due partly to prevention of heart attacks by better management of risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol and due partly to better treatment of heart attack patients when they reach hospital.

“But far too many heart attack victims still die from a cardiac arrest before medical help arrives. Many of these deaths could be prevented by rapid Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Our message is simple; hands-only CPR, as shown by Vinnie Jones, could save many more lives in the future."

Professor Weissberg’s mention of hard man actor Vinnie Jones is a reference to the current British Heart Foundation campaign which sees our Vinnie demonstrate the proper application of Hands-only CPR,  something that is best done to the catchy beat of the Bee Gees hit, Stayin' Alive which has been found to contain the ideal beats-per-minute ratio for saving a life.