Hard to die from a heart attack today

I have always thought that you have to a touch arrogant to be a consultant, and proof is in this week from Barcelona where the European Society of Cardiology have been meeting. Their President, Roberto Ferrari MD, claimed that adults today can expect to live 10 years longer than the average adult 30 to 40 years ago. Nothing too surprising about that, but he has set the cat among the pigeons by claiming that most of that extra decade resulted from advances in cardiovascular medicine, especially the treatment of heart attacks. Fine if he had left it there, but he went on to say “In cardiology, we have contributed seven of those 10 years of life, while oncologists have contributed 2.4 months,” and we are awaiting a response from the various Cancer Societies in Europe and the USA on that one.

However it might reassure you to know that he is confident that “it is difficult to die from a heart attack today.” Let’s hope his own heart is a strong one or he might keel over from the adverse publicity if he ever did have a heart attack!