According to research funded by us heart attack death rates fell by around half between 2002 and 2010.

Approximately half of this improvement is due to fewer heart attacks occurring and half due to improved survival after a heart attack. Patients were about a third less likely to die from a heart attack in 2010 than they were in 2002.

But the hard work is far from over.

Hands-only CPR, as shown by Vinnie Jones, could save many more lives

Our Medical Director, Professor Peter Weissberg, said: “This impressive fall in death rates is due partly to prevention of heart attacks by better management of risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol and due partly to better treatment of heart attack patients when they reach hospital.

“But far too many heart attack victims still die from a cardiac arrest before medical help arrives. Many of these deaths could be prevented by rapid Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Our message is simple; hands-only CPR, as shown by Vinnie Jones, could save many more lives in the future."

The research was published in the British Medical Journal.

British Heart Foundation is a registered Charity No. 225971. Registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales No. 699547.
Registered office at Greater London House, 180 Hampstead Road, London NW1 7AW. Registered as a Charity in Scotland No. SC039426