Heart disease is the biggest killer in the national capital New Delhi, followed by diabetes and cancer, according to the figures released by the Delhi government's Economic Survey.

It found that heart attacks killed approximately 15,442 people in 2007, while diabetes killed 3,920 people. Tuberculosis killed 2,597, while cancer, though perceived as deadlier, was fourth killing 2,516 people.

Out of a total 1,00,974 deaths in 2007, heart disease alone was responsible for 15 per cent of the casualties, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi-2009 released on Friday.

This is definitely a shift in the trend - respiratory diseases had caused the most deaths in 2006, as many as 9,164. It no longer figures in the list, indicating that the switch to CNG and other efforts of the Delhi government to check air pollution seem to have paid off.

The survey also shows that the capital is a study in contrast: over 600 people died of anaemia, while uncontrolled eating contributes to the death of others.

The average number of deaths per day in Delhi has increased to 277 in 2007 as against 271 in 2006. In 2006, 98,908 deaths were reported from the city, the report said.

Infant mortality doubles
The survey also noted that the infant mortality rate in the capital has doubled, with 25.44 deaths recorded per 1,000 children in 2007 as compared to 12.89 in 2005. The rate was 32.37 in 1991 but it saw a consistent decline till 2005 before recording a rise in 2006, when it was 18.05.

However, Delhi's infant mortality rate is still far better than the national average of 55 in the year 2007.

According to the survey, Delhi spent Rs945 crore in health sector that was 9.45 per cent of the total plan expenditure of the city government for the year 2008-09, which was lower than previous two years.

Another shocking revelation is that although Delhi is the country's capital and a modern hi-tech city providing many incentives for child birth, nearly one fourth of infants in the city are born at home, a delivery system fraught with dangers.

An interesting piece of information brought to light by the survey was that although the death rate has gone down from 6.11 per 1,000 in 2006 to 6.07 in 2007, the number of average deaths recorded per day has gone up from 271 in 2006 to 277 in 2007.