'North-south' heart disease split

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Britain suffers from a north-south divide when it comes to heart disease, health campaigners have warned.

The British Heart Foundation says poverty and inequality are to blame, with parts of the north of England and Scotland suffering disproportionately.

It is targeting its funding in areas of the country where coronary heart problems are the most serious.

The charity says that as many as 80% of cases are preventable and that better health education is needed.

Its campaigners argue that more can be done to make people's lives healthier.

In Middlesbrough - which has one of the highest heart disease rates in the UK - the local primary care trust is so concerned that it has opened Britain's first heart clinic in a shopping centre.