§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the annual cost to the National Health Service of providing drugs to treat coronary heart disease.
§ Mr. John MacKayThere is no central record of the specific diseases for which drugs are supplied, but in 1981 the estimated net ingredient cost of prescriptions for preparations acting on the cardiovascular system and diuretics was £22.748 million. Not all of these drugs will have been prescribed specifically for coronary heart disease.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the number of deaths in Dundee and Scotland, respectively, from coronary heart disease in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. John MacKayCoronary heart disease is not separately identified in the international classification of diseases, but is included within the classification ischaemic heart disease. Figures for deaths from this cause in Dundee and Scotland are published in table C2.16 of the annual reports of the Registrar General for Scotland for 1977 to 1981 copies of which are in the Library. Figures for 1982 are not yet available.