New data reveals 89% increase in cardiac waiting lists in Wales
The data by the British Heart Foundation shows there has been an 89% rise in cardiac waiting lists in Wales at the end of February 2025
The UK’s heart health has declined more quickly at the start of the 2020s than in any other decade for over 50 years, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
New analysis by the charity shows there has been a rise in the rate and number of deaths in working-age adults aged 20-64 from cardiovascular disease in the UK.
The rate rose to 55 deaths per 100,000 in 2023 from 49 per 100,000 in 2019 – the first sustained increase in at least a generation.
Deaths in working age adults rose by 18%, from 18,693 in 2019, to 21,975 in 2023, averaging 420 a week.
The BHF, which launches its new strategy this week, says 'a bold new approach to tackling cardiovascular disease is needed to reverse this trend'.
The charity says focusing investment on cutting-edge research in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), data science and genomics could help to revolutionise how the UK prevents and treats cardiovascular disease.
It adds that doing so could save countless lives and reduce significant pressure on the NHS.
The BHF is urging governments, funders, and supporters to work together.
Since 2020, latest Welsh figures show:
• An 18% rise in the number of people diagnosed with heart failure, up to a record high of 42,457 from 36,055.
• An 8% rise in the number of people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, up to a record high of 84,939 from 78,905.
• A 9% rise in the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes - a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease - up to a record high of 222,686 from 204,326.
• Since the start of the decade there has been an 89% rise in cardiac waiting lists to a record high of 38,269 at the end of February 2025.
Sioned Thomas, from Caerleon, was on holiday with her family in France in 2019, when she went for a run with her father Grahaeme and he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
“It happened so quickly, I just didn’t know what to do. It was so frightening,”
The family discovered after his death that Grahaeme, 51, had the undiagnosed inherited heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
Many affected individuals have no symptoms at all, according to the British Heart Foundation.
Sioned and her older sister Angharad, 30, now need to undergo regular health checks in case they also develop the same condition.
Sioned is now raising awareness of the importance of learning CPR:
“I feel like I am doing something for my dad, it makes me feel closer to him".
“It’s also important to me that BHF research might ensure other families don’t go through what we’ve been through.”
The Welsh Government says:
“We are happy to meet with the British Heart Foundation to understand what is contained in its plan and if there are any implications for the NHS in Wales.”