Dementia overtakes heart disease as leading cause of death in UK

clock • 1 min read

Dementia and Alzheimer disease has replaced ischaemic heart diseases as the leading cause of death in England and Wales.

Office of National Statistic (ONS) figures show that Dementia and Alzheimer disease now account for 11.6% of all deaths registered in 2015. Ischaemic heart disease (or coronary artery disease) was the second leading cause of death in England and Wales, with 11.5% of all deaths registered in 2015. For males, ischaemic heart diseases was the leading cause of death accounting for 14.3% of all male deaths in 2015, compared with 14.8% in 2014, the ONS found. For females, the leading cause of death was dementia and Alzheimer disease accounting for 15.2% of all female deaths, up from 13.4...

To continue reading this article...

Join COVER for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, key trend analysis and industry insights.
  • Stay on top of the latest developments around health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and the cost of living crisis.
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletter.
  • Members only access to monthly programme 'The COVER Review'
  • Be the first to hear about our CPD accredited events and awards programmes.

Join now

 

Already a Cover member?

Login

More on PMI

Cancer, mental health and MSK top RedArc referrals
PMI

Cancer, mental health and MSK top RedArc referrals

Represent 51% of the conditions over the past five years

Jaskeet Briah
clock 10 March 2026 • 2 min read
Young adults 'most open' to exploring private healthcare
PMI

Young adults 'most open' to exploring private healthcare

Younger adults 'redefining' what they expect from healthcare

Jaskeet Briah
clock 06 March 2026 • 2 min read
Private healthcare admissions hit record in Q3 2025
PMI

Private healthcare admissions hit record in Q3 2025

PMI paid admissions at a record level

Jaskeet Briah
clock 03 March 2026 • 2 min read