HEALTH initiatives aimed at cutting heart disease are having little effect on younger Scots from deprived areas, a top Glasgow doctor has warned.

It comes after a new study showed Scots aged 35-44 from poorer areas are six times more likely to die from heart disease than those from more affluent backgrounds.

Figures published earlier this year showed the number of people having heart attacks in Glasgow has fallen by more than a quarter in four years.

But while the number of deaths is falling, the decline is slowing in this section of the country's population.

The study found that smoking and an unhealthy diet are major contributors to the amount of heart problems among younger patient from poorer areas.

The number of people dying from heart disease in Scotland has halved in the last two decades but the country still has one of the highest death rates in the world.

Professor Alastair Leyland, from the Medical Research Council in Glasgow, said the figures showed that initiatives designed to tackle health inequalities were having little effect on heart disease rates amongst younger patients.

He said: "Deliberate interventions to reduce inequalities in health through modification of major risk factors have had limited success to date.

"The alternative is to tackle the social inequalities themselves the unequal distribution of power, money, resources, and life chances.

"Although not a quick fix solution, if it works then policies to reduce social inequalities will ultimately reduce inequalities in health associated with all causes that manifest as social gradients and not just coronary heart disease."

The study, led by Liverpool University epidemiologist Professor Simon Capewell, examined death rates from heart disease in Scotland from 1986 to 2006.

The report, which has just been published in the British Medical Journal, concludes: "These mortality changes reflect social gradients in unhealthy behaviour and lifestyle." Is enough being done to improve health? ALLAN MacLEAN, 54, city centre, engineer: "More could be done to promote healthy living for kids, but making children eat healthily is up to the parents." SOPHIE OSBORNE, 20, city centre, student: "Making children eat healthily is up to the parents. The government does enough." HOLLY OSBORNE, 17, city centre, student: "There's still more to do to stop kids eating junk and living unhealthily. The schools could stop children from leaving at lunchtime." LINDA MacASKILL, 59, city centre, unemployed: "It's up to parents to look after their children and make sure they live healthily, but the government could provide extra help." ALEXA ORD, 56, Govanhill, sales assistant: "They used to do more to promote healthy living, like only allowing healthy food in schools, but they stopped that now." THOMAS ARMSTRONG, 70, Townhead, retired: "Junk food is cheaper than healthy food and easier to get. Make healthy food cheaper and Glasgow will become healthier." MARTHA RAFFERTY, 49, Lenzie, solicitor: "The government does enough, it's the parents that need to teach their kids the way to behave and to live healthily." ALAN McPARTLAN, 26, city centre, tattoo shop worker: "I think we have a way to go before we can say that enough is being done to make sure kids live a healthy life."