1,740 lives lost to heart attack in 2018

Heart disease and stroke were among the leading causes of death in 2018, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The CSO Vital Statistics Yearly summary 2018, found that cancer, diseases of the respiratory system and heart disease and stroke were responsible for almost three in four deaths last year.

Overall there was a total of 31,116 deaths registered in 2018, of which 15,967 were male and 15,149 were female. The 2018 total is 2.1 per cent higher than in 2017 when 30,484 deaths were registered.

Heart disease and stroke recorded by the CSO as “diseases of the circulatory system,” accounted for 8,938 or 28.7 per cent of all deaths.

Cancer was responsible for 29.6 per cent or 9,198 deaths while diseases of the respiratory system accounted for 4,165 or 13.4 per cent.

According to the report “The leading cause of death in 2018 varied widely by age group. Among those aged from 15 to 34 years, external causes of death including accidents, suicide and other ranked first (265 deaths). Among individuals aged 35-74, cancers were the leading cause while for those aged 75 and older, it was diseases of the heart and arteries.”

Of the 8,938 lives lost to heart disease and stroke in 2018, 4,140 were due to ischaemic heart disease and 1,680 to cerebrovascular disease or stroke. Of the 4,140 lives lost to ischaemic heart disease the cause of death in 1,740 people was “acute myocardial infarction” also known as a heart attack.

More men died from heart attack in 2018 compared to women with the data showing that acute myocardial infarction was the cause of death for 1,048 men compared to 692 women.

At 31,116 the total number of deaths registered in 2018 is 10.4% higher than in 2008 when 28,192 deaths were registered.

There were 25,633 deaths of persons aged 65 and over registered in 2018 and this accounts for over four-fifths of all deaths registered in 2018.

The Irish Heart Foundation runs a number of support groups for people living with heart disease and stroke survivors. For more information please see here.