Scotland has a high prevalence of the risk factors associated with heart disease, such as smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity. Overall, it is estimated that around 6.7% of men and 4.2% of women are living with CHD (Scottish Health Survey 2016).

The age and sex standardised mortality rate for CHD fell from 191 per 100,000 population in 2010 to 130 in 2019, a reduction of 31.9% over the last 10 years. The mortality rate increases sharply with age with much higher rates among older people aged 75+.

In Scotland today, 685,000 people live with CVD;4 at least 48,000 of those have heart failure.

The disease is caused when the heart’s blood vessels, the coronary arteries, become narrowed or blocked and cannot supply enough blood to the heart. Scotland has a high prevalence of the risk factors associated with heart disease, such as smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity.

Stroke remains the third biggest killer in Scotland and the leading cause of disability. There were 15,000 strokes in Scotland in 2016 and 4,400 deaths.

THURSDAY, May 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A new MRI scanning technique can help doctors better nail down when a person has suffered a stroke and whether clot-busting drugs will help preserve their brain.

May 9, 2011 — Many people who suffer strokes have them while they are asleep, which may prevent them from getting clot-busting treatment in the critical first few hours after a stroke, a study shows.

Time of Day Both STEMI and stroke are most likely to occur in the early hours of the morning—specifically around 6:30am.