Socioeconomic deprivation has a profound effect on the risk of having a first heart attack, the chance of reaching hospital alive, and the probability of surviving the first month, finds a study in this week's BMJ.

Data obtained from the Scottish Morbidity Record and General Register Office revealed that between 1986 and 1995 in Scotland, 44,465 men and 38,710 women died before being admitted to hospital after a first heart attack. A further 68,626 men and 49,123 women were admitted to hospital, of whom 22% died within 30 days.

The effect of socioeconomic deprivation is greatest in the young, with a twofold increase in death before reaching hospital in those under 65, say the authors. The most deprived members of society under 65 have twice the risk of a first heart attack and death before reaching hospital, they add.

Given these findings, reducing death from heart disease requires a focus on primary prevention that explicitly addresses socioeconomic inequalities, conclude the authors

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For further information contact: Dr Kate MacIntyre, Specialist Registrar in Public Health Medicine,

University of Glasgow,

Tel: +44 (0)141 339 8855 ext. 0165

Professor John McMurray, Clinical Research Initiative in Heart Failure,

University of Glasgow,

Tel: +44 (0)141 330 6588

Email J.McMurray@bio.gla.ac.uk

First published: 11 May 2001