HEART health in Britain has declined faster at the start of the 2020s than any other decade for more than 50 years, health campaigners have warned.

Analysis by the British Heart Foundation published today found rising deaths among working-age adults from cardiovascular disease, increasing heart failure and growing risks from obesity and diabetes.

The charity’s Professor Bryan Williams said: “We need to act now to prevent the hard-won progress of recent decades being lost for future generations.

“Research and innovation are how we’ll achieve this, and the rapid advances in AI, data science, technology and advanced therapies offer us a glimpse into what’s possible if we capitalise on this era of scientific opportunity."

Cardiovascular deaths in working-age adults have risen by 18 per cent since 2019 from 18,693 to 21,975 in 2023.

The charity said there has been a 21 per cent rise in the number of people diagnosed with heart failure, to a record high of 785,000 in March 2024 from 650,000 in March 2020.

The analysis also shows an 83 per cent increase in people waiting for planned hospital treatment in England, with cardiac waiting lists also growing in Scotland and Wales.

The foundation said the shift follows progress to halve deaths since the 1960s — but an increasingly unhealthy population, widening health inequalities, the impact of Covid and pressure on the NHS have had an impact.

The charity wants to prevent 125,000 heart attacks and strokes, reduce early deaths from cardiovascular disease by 25 per cent, and cut the number of years lost to heart-related ill health by a quarter by 2035.