Calls for strategy to tackle CVD deaths

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is second only to cancer as the UK’s biggest killer, claiming the lives of around 160,000 of our fellow citizens every year. It is responsible for 1 in 4 premature deaths, and an estimated 7.6m people currently live with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK – a figure which continues to grow. In England alone, CVD-related healthcare costs £7.4 billion per year, with the annual costs to the wider economy estimated at £15.8 billion. Yet despite this, there is no national strategy for improving outcomes in CVD. 

CVD is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. It is usually associated with a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries and an increased risk of blood clots; however it can also refer to a number of other conditions, including defects to the heart’s electrical system. The disease encompasses a wide range of conditions that impact people in many different ways. However, they nearly always reduce an individual’s quality of life.

These varying conditions are recognised as existing under the umbrella of CVD, they are often seen and treated as separate, unrelated conditions. This has led to a fragmented approach to the management of CVD and a focus that has appeared to shift between different priorities.