Scottish heart disease statistics
Hospital activity for the year ending 31 March 2026 and deaths for the year ending 31 December 2025

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland provides an annual update on heart disease in Scotland. The publication includes information on incidence, mortality, hospital activity, 30-day survival following first emergency admission, operations, GP prescribing and ambulance service activity.

Main points

• The rate at which new cases of coronary heart disease occur (the incidence) has fallen by 15% over the last decade (2016/17 to 2025/26).
• In 2025, there were 6,531 deaths in Scotland where coronary heart disease (CHD) was the underlying cause. The age-sex standardised mortality rate for coronary heart disease has continued to decline over the last decade, falling by 17% from 139.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 2016 to 116.2 per 100,000 in 2025.

Trend in coronary heart disease death rates for the last ten years

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Coronary heart disease – age and sex adjusted death rates per 100,000 population, Scotland, 2016 to 2025

• The rate for hospital discharges with heart attack has decreased by 25% in the past 10 years. 521.3 discharges per 100,000 population in 2016/17 to 389.7 per 100,000 in 2025/26.
• In 2025/26, 93% of people survived 30 days or more following their first heart attack, which is largely unchanged over the past decade.
• The death rate for heart failure has increased by 18% over the ten-year period (7 deaths per 100,000 population in 2016 to 8.3 per 100,000 in 2025), however, there has been a decrease over the past four years.

Background

Heart disease is a broad term for a variety of conditions that affect the structure and function of the heart. The most common type of heart disease is coronary heart disease (CHD) where the blood vessels carrying oxygen-rich blood (coronary arteries) to the heart muscle become narrowed or blocked. If insufficient blood reaches the heart muscle the result can be damage to the heart muscle which is known as a heart attack.

Heart failure is the consequence of failure of the ability of the heart muscle to pump blood efficiently. This can be caused by a heart attack but there are a number of other causes of heart failure (including disease of the heart valves, lung disease, heavy alcohol use and infections affecting the heart).

Scotland has a high prevalence of the risk factors associated with CHD, such as smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity. Despite a substantial reduction in the rate of death from coronary heart disease (CHD) over the last decade, it remains one of the leading causes of death in Scotland (Health of Scotland’s population - Mortality Rates). Overall, it is estimated that around 7% of men and 4% of women are living with CHD (Scottish Health Survey 2024). Treating and preventing heart disease is a national clinical priority for Scotland, as outlined in the Heart Disease Improvement Plan. Please see News and Updates section of our website for more details.

Further information

Public Health Scotland publishes a range of heart disease-related information. You can find all our information on the heart disease section of the PHS website. Further information can be found in the Heart Disease Statistics report.

Corresponding information on stroke can be found on the stroke section of the website.

The next release of this publication will be in November 2027.