Deaths from heart disease and cancer in England fell significantly below expected levels last year, reflecting advances in treatment and research, while dementia emerged as a stark outlier with 2,588 more fatalities than forecast.
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show cardiovascular deaths came in eight per cent lower than the 135,700 predicted, with 124,218 recorded. Cancer deaths were two per cent below expectations.
By contrast, more than 68,000 people died from dementia in 2025 — approximately one in six deaths from leading causes — with the condition continuing to claim more lives than any other major disease. Dementia overtook heart disease as the UK’s leading cause of death a decade ago and has retained that position ever since, except during the Covid pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
In total, 391,538 deaths were recorded from the six major causes, around four per cent lower than expected. Dementia and influenza were the primary drivers pushing mortality above forecasts.
An NHS England spokesperson suggested improved diagnostic techniques were identifying more people with the condition than ever before.
However, the health service is failing to meet diagnosis targets in more than half of local authorities across England, with London performing worst. Only around one in three cases are diagnosed in the capital, compared with a national average of 66.5 per cent — just short of the government’s 66.7 per cent ambition.
Around 900,000 people in the UK currently live with dementia, a figure expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, more than a third of those with the condition have not received a diagnosis.
Campaigners have criticised what they describe as a “cruel injustice” facing dementia patients, who often pay higher care bills despite no drugs being available on the NHS to cure, prevent or meaningfully slow the disease. In 2024, Lecanemab — the first treatment shown to slow Alzheimer’s progression — was denied to NHS patients after officials ruled it was not cost-effective.
Dementia was also removed from official NHS planning guidance last year, prompting concerns it is no longer being treated as a priority.
The Government has pledged to deliver the first Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, intended to set national standards and improve care quality.
