Many people think the unexpected won’t happen to them, but here are some statistics that might make them think again:

• In the UK, one in three people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime and one in four will die from it. In 2008, 156,000 people died from cancer in the UK. Breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancers together account for over half of all new cancers each year.*
• In 2007, strokes accounted for around 53,000 deaths. In those aged under 75, around one in 20 deaths were from stroke, making it a major cause of premature mortality. In 2006, nearly 40% of men and more than 30% of women in England had high blood pressure, a key risk factor for stroke.**
• A comparison of relevant UK studies indicates that about half of people who have a heart attack die within 28 days, and three quarters of those die within the first 24 hours.**

 

*info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/index.htm
**www.heartstats.org/datapage.asp?id=8615, Stroke statistics 2009