Ischaemic heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Australia, but the number of lives it claims is in decline.
The condition accounted for 12% of Australia’s 158,504 deaths last year – the median age of death was 85 – but the rate per head of population dropped by more than a third in a decade, according to latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The top five causes accounting for a third of all deaths included dementia (up 3% to 8.3 % since 2007) cerebrovascular diseases (6.6%) trachea, bronchus and lung cancer (5.3%) and chronic lower respiratory disease (5.1%).
Suicide was the leading cause of death in 15-44 year olds.
Intentional self-harm accounted for 2,866 deaths, with men three times more likely to take their own lives than women.