The number of heart operations increased

Statistics released on Wednesday show that deaths from coronary heart disease fell, but the number of hospital coronary operations rose by 7%.

The figures, from NHS Scotland, also showed that the number of men diagnosed with the condition rose slightly, while for women, the rate fell by 1%.

The number of people suffering strokes also fell since 2001 - by 3% for men, and 1% for women.

Scotland has the highest death rate from heart disease in the EU and the Scottish Executive has vowed to reduce the number of deaths under 75 to 50% of 1995 levels by 2010.

The statistics, which cover up until the end of March 2003, were compiled by NHS Scotland's Information and Statistics Division (ISD Scotland).

The data shows that the number of men diagnosed with heart disease rose by 1% for 2002 compared with 2001.

Cerebrovascular disease

But the number of women diagnosed with heart disease fell by around 1%.

The number of coronary angiographies, a procedure to establish if a patient's arteries are blocked, remained consistent with annual figures (11,803 for 2002/03) since 1998.

The number of new people diagnosed with cerebrovascular disease, which includes haemorrhages or strokes, fell by 3% in men and 1% in women from 2001 to 2002.

Death rates from cerebrovascular disease remained steady in 2002, when 82 people (per 100,000) died from strokes and haemorrhages, the same number as last year.

The longer term trend for cerebrovascular disease showed a steady decline from the early 1990s, said ISD Scotland.