Deaths from heart attacks across the South West have fallen by more than half as a result of pioneering treatments and faster response times, according to startling new figures.

Over the last decade the rate of men in the region dying from heart attacks has dropped by 59 per cent, with a fall of 61 per cent for women – beating the national average of a 50 per cent reduction.

Westcountry heart specialists have put the encouraging figures down to hospitals providing “the fastest access to treatment” anywhere in the country. Dr Stuart Walker, consultant cardiologist at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, which has been praised nationally for its particularly quick response times, said speedy treatment was absolutely essential.

He said: “Patient outcomes after a heart attack are directly related to the speed of treatment delivery and we are giving our patients the fastest access to that treatment in the country.

“If patients are treated quickly, they have a greater chance of doing well.”

The 24-hour availability of specialist angioplasty – where a small balloon is inflated in a clogged artery to relieve pressure – has also transformed outcomes for patients.

With this treatment a local anaesthetic is used and recovery times are far quicker than with conventional surgery, so most patients are discharged after 48 hours.

National statistics showed in September that Musgrove Park Hospital had the best record in the country in terms of a fast response for performing primary angioplasty.

Figures showed that in 99 per cent of cases, staff there had carried out the procedure within the recommended time of 150 minutes from getting the 999 call.

The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital has also been praised for its work to reduce deaths from heart attacks.

It was recently named by the independent consumer health guide Dr Foster as the Trust of the Year (South) – a key criteria being patient mortality figures from treatment for heart attacks.

Back in 1996, it became the first in the country to demonstrate that life-saving primary angioplasty could be performed in a local hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

RD&E consultant cardiologist Dr David Smith said: “Speed and teamwork are essential to maximise the benefits of primary angioplasty which supersedes ‘clot busting’ therapy.

“As a result of tremendous enthusiasm from all concerned – ambulance staff, emergency departments, cardiac nurses, technicians and doctors – we have a great team and are getting faster all the time.”

Using national hospital and mortality data, researchers from Oxford University looked at 840,175 men and women in England who had suffered from a total of 861,134 heart attacks between 2002 and 2010.

Nationally, the death rates for heart attacks fell by 50 per cent in men and 53 per cent in women, according to research printed in the British Medical Journal

Overall, the number of people in England having a heart attack has fallen by five per cent a year between 2002 and 2010 due to improved prevention and awareness.