Ballymoney Has Highest Risk Of Heart Disease

Ballymoney has been revealed as the area in Northern Ireland where people are most at risk of dying from coronary heart disease.

A new report from the British Heart Foundation has found that Tameside in Greater Manchester is the UK's heart disease capital, but that the County Antrim town is the most at-risk area in Northern Ireland.

Just behind Ballymoney are Moyle in County Antrim and Banbridge and Ards in County Down.

Tameside was also found to be at risk three times higher than areas like Kensington and Chelsea, where people have the healthiest hearts.

Professor Peter Weissberg, BHF Medical Director, said: "These latest figures expose staggering inequalities in deaths from heart disease across the UK. But it’s unacceptable that people continue to die from heart attacks, regardless of their postcode."

The report has been published to coincide with a major campaign by the British Heart Foundation to tackle problems of heart disease in the UK.

"We are calling on people across the UK to fight back against this killer," a statement said.

|We're bringing together heart patients and scientists to spread the message that heart research is the weapon we need to win the battle against heart disease."

The campaign will involve a new TV advert, to be broadcast of Saturday 20 April, which will replay the moment last year when footballer Fabrice Muamba suffered cardiac arrest in the middle of a match.

BHF Professor Mark Kearney, a researcher, cardiologist and one of the stars of the TV advert, said: "I hate seeing the impact of heart disease on children, parents and grandparents - my experience in clinic is an everyday reminder that heart disease devastates too many lives.

"I’m searching for a breakthrough to put an end to the suffering. But medical research costs money and we urgently needs support to rid the UK of heart disease and the misery it brings."

(IT/H)