HEART patients are more likely to see a specialist if they live in Lithuania than in Britain, research has revealed.

A recent study of heart failure patients has found that care for coronary patients in the UK is among the worst in Europe.

Only one in five British patients will be treated by a cardiologist, which is fewer than almost any country - including Slovenia, Lithuania, Russia, Belgium and Georgia.

The research also revealed a huge shortage in the number of cardiologists working for the NHS - there are only 630 for adult patients, but 1,200 are needed.

About 22 per cent of all deaths in Britain are due to heart disease, making it one of the highest in the world.

The Northern Echo's Chance to Live campaign was launched after Darlington father-of-two Ian Weir died seven months after being placed on the waiting list for a triple heart bypass.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn pledged to improve care for heart patients in the wake of Mr Weir's death.

This month, Mr Milburn announced the drive to speed up heart surgery had produced a "spectacular" drop in patients waiting longer than six months.

The latest study was carried out by the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Surgeons and the British Cardiac Society, which examined admissions of heart patients at 115 hospitals in 24 countries over six weeks.

Dr Jim Hall, head of cardiology at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, said the figures were not surprising.

He said: "It is true that, compared with most countries, the UK has fewer cardiologists per head of the population than any other and that Britain has one of the highest numbers of heart disease. It is not a case of very little heart disease so very few cardiologists, but the other way around. It is something that has been known for a long time.

"There is a heart unit at James Cook Hospital and we see as many heart patients as we can, but given the volume of work we can't see them all."

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, also found that 19 per cent of UK patients have a coronary angiogram, compared to the European average of 32 per cent.