The burden of heart disease is falling in developed countries, including Ireland, however developing countries are not faring as well, new research has shown.

The findings are contained in the latest Global Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Atlas, which has been launched by the World Heart Federation. It revealed that between 1990 and 2010, Ireland recorded one of the biggest improvements when it came to the burden of heart disease.

"The altas uses a measure called disability adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure the burden of CVD in each region and country in the world. DALYs are a measure combining both premature deaths and years lived with disability," noted Prof Jagat Narula, editor-in-chief of the journal, Global Heart, which published the atlas.

It found that around the world in 2010, the CVDs which contributed most to the global burden of disease were ischaemic heart disease and stroke.

In 1990, over 5.2 million people died from ischaemic disease , but by 2010, this figure had jumped to over seven million - an increase of 35%. Meanwhile, stroke deaths rose during the same period by 26%, from 4.6 million to 5.8 million.

"It comes as no surprise that classic risk factors responsible for global CVD burden - dietary risks, high blood pressure, and tobacco smoking - were leading risk factors around the world. Tobacco smoking was ranked comparatively lower as a CVD risk factor in Australasia, Western Europe, and North America, likely due to both aggressive tobacco control measures and shifts in societal attitudes toward tobacco use in recent decades," the atlas authors said.

However, they noted that in some of the world's most populous regions, like Southeast Asia, ‘smoking prevalence remains high, and tobacco is the third leading risk factor behind dietary risks and high blood pressure'.

Among developed countries, Ireland, the UK, Norway and Israel showed the biggest improvement between 1990 and 2010, ‘with each almost halving its CVD DALY burden per 100,000 people'.

"The reductions in CVD burden per capita in high income regions are impressive, and have occurred despite aging populations. Other studies of CVD trends suggest that CVD reductions in the high income world are due to a combination of reduced smoking, improved risk factor control, and improved treatments," the authors said.

Meanwhile, among 33 high income countries assessed in the atlas, Ireland recorded the biggest jump up the ranks towards a lower per capita CVD burden between 1990 and 2010, from 23rd to 9th.

Other big movers included the UK, from 31st to 18th and New Zealand, from 18th to 8th.

However low and middle-income countries did not fare so well, such as many countries of the former Soviet Union, including Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. These all recorded an increase in their CVD DALY burden of at least 30%.

North Africa and the Middle East also recorded big increases in their CVD DALY burden, as a result of poor diet, obesity and high blood pressure.

"In the large populations of the South Asia and North Africa and Middle East regions, the absolute burden of CVDs is high and more often affects young, working-age adults," the authors said.

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