§ Mr. Quentin DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the proportion of patients is who having suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction) survive for five years; and what the equivalent figures are in(a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Sweden and (d) the USA. [160239]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 8 May 2001]: Data on the number of patients who survive for five years after having a heart attack are not routinely collected. Equivalent data for international comparisons are also not readily available. We have developed the National Service Framework for coronary heart disease, a 10-year strategy which deals with all aspects of coronary heart disease to provide a modern service with fair and fast access to high-quality services. One of the NSF's immediate priorities is to improve the use of effective medicines after heart attack (especially use of aspirin, beta-blockers and statins) so that 80 to 90 per cent. of people discharged from hospital following a heart attack will be prescribed these drugs.
We recognise the importance of better information and that is why we have funded, through the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, the Royal College of Physicians' 365W Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project (MINAP), which will collect information on all people hospitalised with a heart attack. It is expected that MINAP will eventually link to mortality data through the United Kingdom central cardiac audit database, and provide information on survival rates.