§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health by how much deaths from heart disease and strokes have been reduced since May 1997; if Government targets for reducing the number of such deaths are being met in these areas; and if he will make a statement. [130384]
§ Yvette CooperTackling heart disease and stroke is a top Government priority. Our target for reducing deaths in this area was set out in the White Paper "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" published in July 1999. It is to reduce the death rate from heart disease, stroke and related conditions in those aged under 75 years by at least two fifths (40 per cent.) by the year 2010, from a three-year average baseline at 1995/96/97.
The target was set for the year 2010 because it will take time for interventions in this area to translate into outcomes in terms of mortality rates. Latest available data still pre-date the start of the "Our Healthier Nation" strategy, but show that the three-year average age standardised death rate from circulatory diseases in people aged under 75 fell from 139.6 per 100,000 population in 1995/96/97 to 133.8 per 100,000 population in 1996/97/98—a 4 per cent. fall.
The downward trend in death rates and the Government's "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" strategy should be reinforced by the National Service Framework on Coronary Heart Disease. The Framework, which we published in March this year, sets out our plans 228W for the development of services for the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease over the next ten years. It will be a key strand in our strategy to reduce both mortality and morbidity from heart disease.