Over 2 million Britons risk dying early from multiple illnesses
For example, 1.26 million people – almost six in 10 of the 2.3 million – have high blood pressure as well as coronary heart disease. There are 579,000 with diabetes, 313,000 have suffered a stroke and 284,000 also have heart failure.
The NHS in England alone spends an estimated £7.4bn a year on treating cardiovascular disease, mainly heart attacks and strokes. But the wider economic impact of these conditions – which together are Britain’s biggest killer – has been put at £15.8bn.
The research was undertaken by the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Applied Health Research.
Its findings came as separate new findings showed that the number of patients living with heart and circulatory disease and at least five other illnesses rose sharply – from 6.3% to 24.3% – between 2000 and 2014. More