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

Private healthcare invoices slow in 2025: Healthcode
PMI

Private healthcare invoices slow in 2025: Healthcode

1.6% slowdown in Q3 2025

Cameron Roberts
clock 28 October 2025 • 1 min read
NHS patients receive 6.15m private appointments and tests
PMI

NHS patients receive 6.15m private appointments and tests

"We’re not prepared to continue 2-tier healthcare"

Jaskeet Briah
clock 27 October 2025 • 3 min read
National Friendly launches healthcare product
PMI

National Friendly launches healthcare product

No medical questions or underwriting

Jaskeet Briah
clock 14 October 2025 • 2 min read