Northern Ireland is facing a severe public health crisis as the British Heart Foundation (BHF) warns of a ticking time bomb in heart health.
New figures show that cardiovascular disease claimed 4,227 lives across all ages in 2023, the highest annual total since 2012.
This means that every month, around 350 families in Northern Ireland are losing a loved one to heart-related conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. The BHF stressed that awareness of the scale of the problem remains limited both within society and in government.
One of those affected is the family of Joanne McKenna from Holywood, County Down, who died of heart failure in February 2024 at the age of 46. Joanne had first suffered a cardiac arrest at 29 while on holiday in Canada, surviving thanks to the swift actions of a hotel security guard who performed CPR and used a defibrillator. She later received an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) to protect her from further episodes.
Her sister Sharon Hare described how Joanne’s life changed after that first incident but said she remained full of love and energy. “At 29, your life’s ahead for you, but that changed everything for her,” Sharon explained. “We’re a tight family and Jo had a really good life… she was a vibrant, loving, caring, wonderful sister and friend and daughter.”
Despite her resilience, Joanne’s health declined at the end of 2023. She was placed on the transplant waiting list but had to be removed just 10 days later as she was too unwell for surgery. She died on 21 February 2024. “We were devastated that the strong centre of our family was gone,” Sharon said.
The BHF’s Northern Ireland head, Fearghal McKinney, highlighted the urgent need for change. “It’s clear that in Northern Ireland, people just don’t understand that there’s a problem – that’s societally we don’t understand that there’s a problem and from a governmental perspective we don’t understand that there’s a problem,” he said.
He urged immediate action to raise awareness and tackle the crisis. “Let us not shy away from what is a ticking time-bomb on heart health,” McKinney warned.
