Health Minister Yvette Cooper today launched a national initiative in Bradford to tackle heart disease.

The national service framework on coronary heart disease is designed to tackle the country's - and Bradford's - biggest killer.

As Tony Blair unveiled the campaign in London, Ms Cooper joined pupils at a healthy-eating breakfast club at Belle Vue Girls' School.

She said: "Nationally there are 100,000 deaths in England from heart disease every year and over 16,000 of those are in the northern and Yorkshire region. Many of these deaths are preventable. For example, too few people are getting the right drugs at the right time."

Bradford West MP Marsha Singh, who was also at the launch, welcomed the initiative.

He said: "Bradford has a very high rate of heart disease generally, particularly because people in the Asian community have a propensity towards heart disease because of poor diet and poor living conditions.

"The emphasis of this campaign is on prevention - so that is why we came to the school because, if we improve the diet early enough, we are on our way to stopping problems later on in life."

Speaking about the breakfast club, Ms Cooper said: "This is an excellent example which is part of Bradford Health Action Zone and will prevent young people dying of heart disease in the future."

The club was set up two weeks ago after teachers realised pupils were missing out on one of the main meals of the day.

Senior teacher Jan Lee said: "It's important that pupils start the day with a healthy breakfast so they can learn effectively.

"It gives them sustenance throughout the day and we particularly wanted to encourage teenage girls to participate."

Among the schemes to be introduced are better access to drugs and an initiative to encourage people to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Mr Blair was also announcing the creation of fast-track chest clinics as part of a new drive to reduce deaths from heart disease. Patients with suspected angina and other heart conditions will be seen by specialists within two weeks of going to their GP.

The Government has also pledged to halve deaths from coronary heart disease by 2010 as part of its Healthier Nation drive. The scheme involves establishing 50 chest pain clinics by 2001 and a further 50 by 2002.

Patients going to their GP and complaining of chest pains will be referred to the specialist clinics and undergo a series of tests within a maximum of two weeks, a health department source said.

The specialist clinics will carry out vital tests, including electrocardiogram tests which will compare the heart rate when resting with the heart rate when on a treadmill.

About 1.4 million people in England suffer from angina and about 110,000 people die from heart disease every year.

The Government hopes that early intervention will reduce the death toll and improve treatment rates.

Easy treatment, such as taking aspirin, which thins the blood, can reduce the risk of heart attacks, research has found.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said: "The number of people dying from heart disease is too high and unacceptable at the moment.''

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