YEARS after evidence on the affects of heart disease on Kerry's population was first produced, we still don't seem to have got the message.

When it comes to heart attacks and heart disease in Kerry, our record is appalling. The death rate in our county is alarmingly high. We know the causes, yet we are making a paltry effort at reversing this fatal trend.

Research has shown that before the 10 accession states joined the European Union, Ireland had the highest rate of heart disease in Europe.

Compared to other provinces, Munster has the highest rate of the disease in Ireland. And for years now, Kerry has topped the table in Munster, giving our county the highest rate of heart disease in Europe.

The latest statistics published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that during the first quarter of this year, January to March, 350 people died in Kerry. A staggering 40 per cent of this number died as a result of diseases of the circulatory system, primarily coronaries and heart disease.

In fact, our overall death rate in the county is alarmingly high. Only Cork County (which has a far larger population) recorded more deaths. More people died in Kerry during the first quarter of this year than every other county in Munster.

In South Dublin, for example, which has a population about twice that of Kerry, less people (221) died during the same period. And of those that died, far less died from heart disease than in Kerry.

But while the number of deaths itself stands out, it is the cause of the deaths that really demands attention. Compared to other counties, particularly those along the eastern seaboard, the incidence of fatal heart disease is particularly high.

The majority of the medical fraternity in Kerry are united in believing that there are people dying in Kerry who should not be dying. And the problem could have more to do with attitude than information.

Our high rate of heart disease in Kerry is directly linked to who we are and how we live. Heart disease is, primarily, hereditary. After that, lifestyle is major factor.

We can do a lot about lifestyle — diet, smoking, weight, exercise and stress. We can't, however, tamper with the gene stock and change who we are.

In a way, we in Kerry are off to a bad start long before we acquire any damaging lifestyle habits.

A general trend of hereditary diseases has developed along the western seaboard. Put simply, we are closely bred. The heart disease gene, therefore, has not been broken through generations as it has been in more urban or multicultural communities.

While the trend is changing for the better, it will be some considerable time before the hereditary factor makes a dent on the rate of heart disease in Kerry; all the more reason why proper lifestyle and diet should be a major issue for the natives of this county.

There is another factor and, while it may not be a contributing cause of death from heart disease, it certainly is not helping.

In the case of a heart attack, for example, doctors the world over speak about the golden hour. More than 70 per cent of heart attacks occur in the home. If proper medical treatment is administered within 60 minutes of the event, the odds for surviving improve dramatically and the likelihood of serious damage to heart tissue decreases.

Unfortunately, there are vast parts of Kerry where an ambulance cannot make it to Kerry General Hospital within that golden hour period.

As crude as it may appear, you have a better chance of surviving a heart attack in Dublin than in Dún Chaoin.

The most recent study conducted by the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association ( NICHSA) confirmed many fears about the incidence of heart disease.

And every finding in Northern Ireland is reflected in Kerry to an even more serious degree.

One in four women in Northern Ireland, for example, will die from heart disease, yet many still regard it as a man's illness.

The death toll in recent years has been greater than all the cancers combined and, in some areas, the figure is as high as one in three.

As well as the appalling death toll, women's symptoms of heart disease can often be different from those of men.

Research carried out in the northeast of England found that men with heart disease were twice as likely to be referred to hospital for further investigation as their female counterparts.

Other factors also affect the rate of heart disease in women. Men are giving up smoking at a greater rate, for example. More and more women, meanwhile, are taking on more stressful jobs. In addition, more women than men never take any exercise.

But perhaps the biggest difficulty is ignorance. Men know that they are at risk from heart disease. Women tend not to consider the possibility.

The Woman's Heart website also tells a few truths that should be enough to prompt an all-out assault on how we live. Heart disease is the single biggest killer of women in Britain. A woman is four times as likely to die from heart disease as from breast cancer (Office of National Statistics).

More than a quarter of women aged 60-79 (the highest risk age group) are clinically obese. Half have high blood pressure and half have a total cholesterol reading of 6.5 or more (the ideal reading is less than five). Girls are now smoking more than boys.

Here in Ireland, about 10,000 people die every year from cardiovascular disease. The disease is the single biggest killer in Ireland and accounts for about 36 per cent of all deaths. Kerry has topped the national average for many years.

Some consolation can be found at an anecdotal level in Kerry. GPs are reporting an increase in the number of people presenting to their clinics wanting to know the risk factors relating to heart disease and suggestions on how they can make changes.

The good news is that we know about it and trends are changing. We can't change much about our make-up overnight, but we can change our lifestyle.