A North-South divide in the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease has been described as a "stain on the UK's public health record."

The warning came as figures again show Scotland as the worst affected country in the UK.

Glasgow had the highest death rate from cardiovascular disease, followed by Hyndburn in Lancashire and Blaenau Gwent in South Wales, with the Isles of Scilly at the opposite end of the league with the lowest rate, according to the paper, published in medical journal Heart.

Scotland had the highest prevalence of all cardiovascular conditions - which include heart disease and stroke - out of the four UK countries, with the next greatest rate in the North of England.

Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at Glasgow University's Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, said the large number of deprived communities in Scotland were the "top answer" when looking at why the divide exists.

"It's really not rocket science," he said. "In less affluent communities there are a huge number of lifestyle and risk factors that mean that individuals will get heart disease much sooner.

"The obvious risk factors are smoking, more obesity, more diabetes, increased alcohol use. It comes down to the quality of the diet of individuals, individuals being less active, less fit, and not because they want to be, but because of where they live.

"In the poorer areas of Glasgow it's not difficult to see that there is an abundance of adverse foods, a lack of sports centres, no leafy parks for them to go walking in."

Professor Sattar added that the issue has been widely reported and acknowledged by medical professionals and called for more action to be taken to tackle it.

He said: "Millions of pounds have been spent identifying these gradients, we don't need more data telling us about it, what we need to do is find clever, sensible ways to actually make a difference.

"It's not an easy thing to tackle, these are deeply engrained habits."

The analysis, led by the University of Oxford, showed that cardiovascular disease accounted for 28 per cent of deaths in 2012, a total of 42,000 premature deaths (classed as deaths before the age of 75).

This compares to 27 per cent from cancer.

For men, cancer has overtaken cardiovascular disease as the biggest killer for the first time since the middle of the 20th century - with cancer accounting for 29 per cent of deaths, compared to 28 per cent for cardiovascular disease.

Dr Adam Timmis, deputy director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit at Barts Health NHS Trust, said the local authorities with the highest death rates for cardiovascular disease were nearly all in the North of England and Scotland.