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Background— Among primary coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, certain socioeconomic characteristics of individuals and living environments appear to play a central role. The objective of this study was to assess the burden of neighbourhood deprivation-associated excess in mortality and hospital admission from CHD in Plymouth.Methods— A small area ecological study using indices of neighbourhood deprivation and coronary heart disease mortality and hospital admission data aggregated for 1991-2003 for CHD mortality and for 1997-2004 for CHD hospital admission. Locally defined community areas (n = 43) were classified according to the Townsend index, measuring material deprivation.Results— CHD mortality and hospital admission increased with Townsend deprivation score in all ages and gender groups.The age-adjusted deprivation-associated excess CHD hospital admission was 15.4% in men and 27.9% in women higher for most compared to the least deprived group.The age-adjusted deprivation-associated excess CHD mortality was 31.5% and 18.9% for men and women, respectively. Excess mortality in the 13-year period studied accounted for more than 1380 and 670 deaths for men and women. Excess hospital admissions in the 7-year period studied accounted for more than 966 and 769 hospital admissions for men and women. A larger proportion of excess CHD deaths were found among men while excess CHD hospital admissions were found among women. The most deprived areas showed the highest mortality and hospital admission risk.Conclusion— Despite the existence of a system of universal health care, inequalities in CHD mortality and hospital admission persist and need to be taken into account when implementing intervention programmes.