NHS winning stroke battle as death toll is halved in under-75s

SCOTLAND appears to be winning a battle with one of the country's biggest killers as new figures show that early deaths from strokes have been more than halved.

The improvement has been welcomed by health minister Shona Robison, who called it a "fantastic achievement".

Better lifestyles and greater awareness about spotting the early signs of stroke have been identified as key factors in the decline.

NHS Scotland set itself a target of reducing deaths from strokes by 50 per cent among under-75s between 1995 and 2010. The mortality rate for strokes among this age group fell from 37.5 per 100,000 in 1995 to 17.2 in 2009.

The number of overall stroke deaths across Scotland also dropped, from 6,821 in 2000 to 4,911 in 2009.

However, the number of stroke deaths was considerably higher among women in 2009 - 3,068 compared with 1,843 male deaths.

Ms Robison said: "NHS Scotland has exceeded its target of achieving a 50 per cent reduction in premature stroke deaths, a year ahead of schedule."

She also welcomed figures showing a reduction in premature deaths from heart disease, saying: "Between 1995 and 2009, not only have we seen a 54 per cent cut in deaths from stroke among under-75s, we've also seen a 59.6 per cent reduction, against a 60 per cent target, in early mortality rates from coronary heart disease.

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"I'd like to thank NHS staff for the dedicated care and support they provide for people who have had a heart attack or a stroke."

A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted, usually because a blood vessel becomes blocked.

The figures show that the NHS just missed the 60 per cent heart attack target, by 0.4 per cent.

The mortality rate for under-75s for heart disease fell from 125 per 100,000 people to 50.4 in 2009.

However, premature deaths from heart disease remain more than four times higher in deprived areas than in non-deprived areas, although the numbers have decreased slightly over the last decade.

Between 2005 and 2009 there were 1,409 deaths from heart disease among under-65s in the most deprived areas of Scotland, compared with 310 in the least deprived areas.

Ben McKendrick of British Heart Foundation Scotland said that the falling death rates were good news.

But he added: "People in the most deprived groups continue to be at far greater risk - they are still over four times more likely to die early from heart disease than people in the most affluent groups.

"It's completely unacceptable that, in 21st century Scotland, wealth continues to play such a big part in determining health."

The Scottish Government's 2009 Heart Disease and Stroke Action Plan set out a three-year programme for further reducing deaths, Ms Robison said.

She said: "The plan focuses not just on providing the best possible care in the acute setting, but in helping people's longer-term recovery in their own communities.

"Future improvements will largely depend on people's lifestyles - eating better, being more active, stopping smoking and drinking sensibly.

"We are taking firm action in all these areas to support people to live healthier lives."