Deaths from coronary heart disease in Australia have fallen to their lowest rate in almost 50 years, with dementia overtaking it as the nation's leading cause of death.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday shows coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men and for people living in outer regional and remote areas.

The number people dying from the disease has been declining steadily for decades and reached the lowest rate since 1968, but still claimed more than 16,000 lives in the past year.

The data suggests the mortality rate for coronary heart disease has decreased by 87 per cent over the 50 years, while the rate of dementia increased by more than 840 per cent.

More than 17,000 people died from dementia including Alzheimer's disease in 2024, wit

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