New plans to cut heart, stroke death rates (Scotland)

Scotland is on course to cut the number of deaths from heart disease and strokes by half inside a decade, doctors revealed. The health boost was revealed as Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met recovering patients in Glasgow and announced new plans to reduce the death rates even further. They will focus on prevention and treatment, as well as increasing the survival rates for those who are affected. David Clark, chief executive of Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, said: "We have seen death rates from heart disease and stroke drop by nearly half in the last 10 years. "This new strategy provides an excellent opportunity to take this to the next stage by improving the quality of life for people who survive heart disease and strokes." The NHS in Scotland has targets of reducing premature heart deaths by 60% and stroke by 50% by 2010 from 1995 levels. The last set of figures were published in 2005 and showed deaths from heart attacks had reduced from 18 per 10,000 of the population in 1995 to 12 per 10,000 in 2005. Stroke deaths fell from 3.7 per 10,000 to 2 per 10,000 over the same period - Evening Times