Cancer now leading killer of men in Britain

Cancer has overtaken cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes, as the leading killer of British men for the first time since the middle of the last century.

However, women are still more likely to die from heart diseases than any other cause, according to a paper in the journal Heart, which reports that up to 2.3 million people in the UK were living with some form of coronary disease in 2012.

Clearly showing links to poverty and the legacy left by now-extinct industries, England had the lowest rates, though the north of England had sharply higher figures than London and surrounding regions.

Fewer than 200 people per 100,000 died of cardiovascular problems in Kensington and Chelsea, the wealthiest London borough, compared with 400 per 100,000 who died in this way in Glasgow.

Heart attacks

Scotland has the highest number of heart attacks and strokes, while Wales led the league for high blood pressure, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation.

Nearly one-in-three deaths of men are now caused by cancer, compared with 29 per cent who succumb to cardiovascular diseases of all types. However, cardiovascular diseases account for more than one-in-four premature deaths of men and nearly one-in-five of women.