Australia has a new leading cause of death according to the nation's latest statistics on mortality. Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS

Deaths from coronary heart disease in Australia have fallen to their lowest rate in almost 50 years, with dementia overtaking it as the nation's leading cause of death.

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Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday shows coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men and for people living in outer regional and remote areas.

The number people dying from the disease has been declining steadily for decades and reached the lo

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