Updated 23 October 2026
The scale of heart and circulatory disease in the UK, explained through key figures, charts and comparisons.
Some of the latest UK statistics describe 2023 or 2024 because health data takes time to collect, analyse and publish. For example, the latest Global Burden of Disease study was published in 2025 but estimates how many people had cardiovascular disease in 2023. The UK death figures below cover 2024: newer 2025 figures exist for individual nations, but final data is not yet available across all four UK nations.
The dates beside each figure show the year being measured, not when this page was updated. Full sources and the reasons for each reporting period are at the end.
UK heart and circulatory disease at a glance
These figures measure different things: people living with disease, registered deaths and hospital admissions. They should not be added together. [1]
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) covers the heart and blood vessels. The mortality totals shown here include coronary heart disease, stroke and vascular dementia. Other datasets use their own definitions. Cardiovascular disease is wider than heart disease alone and must not be described as a heart-attack total.
Deaths and long-term trends
The long-term rate has roughly halved, but recent progress has stalled. The 2024 rate remained above 2019’s. All three figures use the same age-standardised measure. [1]
What does this rate measure? View the annual data
Age-standardisation accounts for differences in population age. “Premature” here means death before age 75; it does not mean working age. Rates are per 100,000, for both sexes, standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population.
| Year | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 159 |
| 2002 | 152 |
| 2003 | 144 |
| 2004 | 132 |
| 2005 | 123 |
| 2006 | 115 |
| 2007 | 109 |
| 2008 | 103 |
| 2009 | 96 |
| 2010 | 93 |
| 2011 | 85 |
| 2012 | 82 |
| 2013 | 81 |
| 2014 | 78 |
| 2015 | 79 |
| 2016 | 77 |
| 2017 | 76 |
| 2018 | 76 |
| 2019 | 73 |
| 2020 | 79 |
| 2021 | 80 |
| 2022 | 82 |
| 2023 | 82 |
| 2024 | 79 |
Differences across the UK
Cardiovascular deaths by nation
Registered deaths in 2024. These counts reflect population size as well as disease burden; they are not a ranking of individual risk. [1]
England
137,572deaths at all ages37,723 before age 75
Scotland
17,444deaths at all ages5,195 before age 75
Wales
9,260deaths at all ages2,660 before age 75
Northern Ireland
4,416deaths at all ages1,330 before age 75
The UK total of 169,205 includes non-residents. The nation figures exclude them, so the four counts do not add exactly to the UK total.
Local differences in deaths before 75
Blackpool’s rate was 136.1 per 100,000, compared with 42.6 in Wealden. The figures describe a population pattern, rather than explaining its cause or predicting an individual’s risk. [1]
View the local figures and definitions
| Local authority | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| Blackpool | 136.1 |
| Glasgow City | 132.7 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 125.3 |
| North Lanarkshire | 124.5 |
| East Ayrshire | 121.5 |
| Wealden | 42.6 |
These three-year local rates cover circulatory diseases coded I00–I99. The national headline and trend use a broader CVD definition, so they should not be compared as identical measures.
Statistics by condition
Six measures of the UK’s cardiovascular burden. People can have more than one condition, so register totals overlap. [1]
Coronary heart disease
62,586Registered deaths2024
Includes 24,344 deaths before age 75. Separately, GP registers recorded 2,312,848 people with coronary heart disease in the 2024/25 and April 2025 data.
Heart attacks
98,941Hospital admissions2024/25
Counts admissions to hospital. A person can be admitted more than once, so this is not a count of unique patients or every heart attack in the community.
Atrial fibrillation
1,695,479People on GP registers2024/25 & April 2025
Atrial fibrillation is a heart-rhythm condition. Registers capture recorded diagnoses; they do not establish how many cases remain undiagnosed.
Heart failure
827,627People on GP registers2024/25 & April 2025
This is the recorded register total. It should not be treated as a complete estimate of everyone living with heart failure.
Stroke
33,753Registered deaths2024
GP registers separately recorded 1,478,957 people with stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). That combined register is not a count of stroke survivors alone.
Vascular dementia
13,871Registered deaths2024
A cause-of-death measure. It is different from the number living with vascular dementia or deaths from all types of dementia.
GP figures combine 2024/25 data for England and Northern Ireland with April 2025 registers for Scotland and Wales. Newer country-level releases exist; these cards retain the dated, combined UK snapshot published by BHF.
Congenital and inherited conditions
Congenital conditions are present from birth; inherited conditions can be passed through families. Cardiovascular disease therefore cannot be understood only as a condition of older age or lifestyle. [1]
Cardiac arrest, CPR and defibrillators
Heart attack
Blood supply to part of the heart is interrupted. A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest.
Cardiac arrest
The heart is no longer pumping effectively. Immediate action is needed.
These are different emergencies and should not be counted as the same event. [2]
The two totals describe different groups. They come from the 2025 guidelines, which combine national reporting periods spanning 2015–21 to 2024–25. They cannot be used as a common-year patient cohort to calculate a treatment or survival percentage. [2]
Available England 2024 registry data for ambulance-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. North West Ambulance Service did not submit data, so coverage is incomplete. [3]
If someone is unresponsive
- Call 999 immediatelyPut the phone on speaker if you can.
- Check breathing and start CPR if neededAssess breathing while the call connects. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR. The call handler can guide you.
- Use an AED as soon as availableAttach it and follow its instructions. Anyone can use one.
Based on the current 2025 adult basic life support guidance. [2]
Risk factors: what the figures show
Smoking
9.8%smoked cigarettes in 2025
Approximately 4.9 million adults. The ONS release was published in October 2026. [4]
High blood pressure
16madults estimated to be affected
BHF’s July 2026 estimate includes diagnosed and undiagnosed cases and draws on surveys and population data. [1]
Cigarette-smoking estimates from the same ONS release, for UK adults aged 18+. Survey methods have changed over time; these are not vaping figures. [4]
Cholesterol and overlapping risk
BHF’s analysis of 2023 risk data associates raised LDL cholesterol with roughly one fifth of cardiovascular deaths and high blood pressure with around 80,000. These estimates overlap, so adding them would double-count some of the burden. [1]
Other factors that affect risk
The NHS identifies these among cardiovascular risk factors. Its prevention advice includes a balanced diet, regular activity, stopping smoking and managing existing conditions. Population statistics do not replace an individual clinical assessment. [5]
Historical economic estimate
A study published in 2025 estimated the UK economic cost of cardiovascular disease at £29 billion for 2021/22, at 2022 prices. This covers healthcare, long-term care, unpaid care and lost production.
Our October 2026 check found no newer directly comparable UK-wide total. This figure is included as historical context; it does not measure current spending. [6]
Questions about these statistics
How many people in the UK have heart and circulatory disease?
BHF’s headline estimate is more than eight million, based on 2023 modelled prevalence. It estimates the number living with disease, rather than new cases during 2026.
How many people die from cardiovascular disease each year?
The UK registered 169,205 cardiovascular deaths in 2024, about 26% of all deaths. That includes both heart and circulatory conditions.
Are cardiovascular death rates still falling?
The UK under-75 rate has fallen considerably since 2001. However, 2024’s rate of 79 per 100,000 remained above the 2019 rate of 73.
Why does this page use statistics from before 2025?
Different datasets are published on different schedules. Some newer country-level statistics are already available, while the cited combined UK totals use earlier reporting periods. The source notes below explain the reason for each older dataset, including modelling and publication delays.
Do you need training to use a defibrillator?
No. Anyone can use an automated external defibrillator by following its prompts. Training helps you practise, but you should not delay using an available AED because you have not attended a course. [2]
Build the confidence to respond
Practise CPR, using an AED and responding to workplace emergencies. Choose a public first-aid course or arrange practical training at your workplace.
Sources and why some data is older
Sources were checked on 23 October 2026. A report published in 2025 or 2026 can analyse an earlier period. We keep the measurement year visible and explain the choice below, including where newer country-level data is already available.
1. UK cardiovascular totals, trends and conditions
BHF Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2026, revised August 2026 and UK Cardiovascular Disease Factsheet, July 2026.
- Mortality and the national trend: 2024
- BHF’s current UK compendium uses 2024 death registrations. Final 2025 data is available for England and Wales and for Scotland; Northern Ireland’s final 2025 annual report is scheduled for 19 November 2026. We retain the consistent published UK aggregation instead of mixing final and provisional years.
- GP registers and hospital admissions: 2024/25 and April 2025
- These are the combined UK figures in the 2026 BHF compendium. Newer releases exist for some nations, including England’s 2025/26 GP and hospital data. Wales’s latest published GP snapshot remains April 2025, with its next release scheduled for 12 November 2026. These figures are therefore labelled as a dated UK snapshot, rather than the latest data available in every nation.
- Prevalence and attributed risks: 2023
- The current Global Burden of Disease edition is GBD 2023, published in 2025. It estimates disease and risk across populations using multiple datasets; the publication year is later than the year being modelled.
- High blood pressure: estimate published in 2026
- The 16-million estimate combines surveys and population estimates. It has no single common observation year and should not be described as a 2026 census count.
Table references: 1.1 and 1.12 (deaths), 1.4 (national trend), 1.27 (local rates), 2.1 (admissions), 2.13 (GP registers) and 2.32 (estimated prevalence). Scotland’s GP total includes BHF’s adjustment for missing practices.
Check the newer national releases and publication schedules
- England and Wales: 2025 mortality
- Scotland: 2025 mortality
- Northern Ireland: release timetable
- England: latest published GP release
- Northern Ireland: latest published GP release
- Scotland: latest published GP release
- Wales: latest published GP release
- England: 2025/26 hospital activity
- IHME: current Global Burden of Disease edition
Availability was checked on 23 October 2026. These national releases are noted to explain the dates; their figures have not been mixed into BHF’s existing UK series.
Definitions used for the charts
The broad national CVD grouping includes ICD-10 codes I00–I99, C38.0, F01, G45, P29 and Q20–Q28. Local rates use I00–I99 only. The national trend rates and local rates are age-standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population; the headline death counts are not. The 2022–24 local comparison pools three years; it is not a single-year 2024 ranking.
2. Cardiac-arrest estimates and emergency guidance
Resuscitation Council UK: Epidemiology of cardiac arrest (2025), Adult basic life support guidelines (2025) and basic life support FAQs.
Why a 2025 source? These remain the current guidelines checked for this article. They are a guideline synthesis, not an annual 2026 census. The UK arrest estimates combine England 2024, Wales October 2015–March 2021, Scotland April 2023–March 2024 and Northern Ireland January 2024–March 2025. We retain that context rather than presenting the totals as one matching-year cohort.
3. England cardiac-arrest survival
OHCAO: English Ambulance Services 2024 overview; current epidemiology report index.
Why 2024? The registry’s index still lists 2024 as its newest England overview when checked. The reported 9.5% is survival at 30 days among treated cases. North West Ambulance Service did not submit 2024 data; this limitation remains beside the figure.
4. Smoking prevalence
ONS: Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2025, published 6 October 2026.
Why 2025 data? This is the latest edition listed by ONS when checked. The 2026 publication reports the completed 2025 survey period. All three smoking comparisons use that release’s Annual Population Survey figures for UK adults aged 18 and over; ONS describes sampling and method changes affecting comparisons over time.
5. Cardiovascular risk factors
NHS: Cardiovascular disease, reviewed 12 January 2026.
This is current explanatory health information used for the overview of risk factors, rather than a numerical population dataset.
6. Historical economic cost
Shih et al.: Economic burden of cardiovascular disease in the United Kingdom, published in 2025.
The study measures 2021/22 costs at 2022 prices. Our check on 23 October 2026 found no newer directly comparable UK-wide estimate covering all cardiovascular disease and its wider economic costs, so the figure is retained only as historical context.
Newer NHS cost collections provide updated cost inputs. OHE’s 2026 research covers a narrower group of atherosclerotic conditions and uses different modelling. Neither directly replaces this total.
Download the original charts and infographics
- UK headline statistics
- Under-75 mortality trend, 2001–2024
- Local mortality comparison, 2022–24
- Reported cardiac arrests and resuscitation attempts
These original graphics retain their source credits for use when shared separately from this article.
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