Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels.

CVD is one of the main causes of death and disability in England, but a healthy lifestyle can largely prevent these outcomes.

CVD includes the following conditions:

  • atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heart rate
  • coronary heart disease
  • hypercholesterolemia, which means excessive cholesterol
  • hypertension, or high blood pressure
  • peripheral vascular disease, which affects the blood vessels
  • stroke
  • vascular dementia, which is caused by reduced blood flowing to the brain

For more information, visit the NHS page on cardiovascular disease.

Who these profiles are for

The profiles are for commissioners and health professionals when assessing the impact of CVD on their local population and making decisions about services. They include data on:

  • primary care and condition management for CVD and CVD risk conditions
  • emergency care
  • hospital admissions
  • acute care procedures
  • mortality

CVDPREVENT

The CVDPREVENT audit is part of a broader strategic objective outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. Over the next 10 years, its goal is to prevent 150,000:

  • strokes
  • heart attacks
  • cases of dementia

The audit provides a detailed view of primary care measures with a wider scope than the summary primary care measures contained in the CVD profiles. It prioritises working with NHS system partners to drive CVD quality improvement at the following levels:

  • individual GP practice
  • primary care network
  • integrated care board

For more information, annual reports, regional insights dashboard, and the data and improvement tool, visit NHS Benchmarking Network.

Diabetes profiles

Diabetes happens when a person's blood sugar level becomes too high.  There are 2 types of diabetes:

  • type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition in which the cells that produce insulin are destroyed. It requires lifelong treatment with insulin to prevent further complications 
  • type 2 diabetes occurs when the body stops producing enough insulin for its needs and is usually accompanied by resistance to the effect of insulin

Diabetes is a key risk condition in developing CVD. The diabetes profiles provide a detailed view of diabetes measures with a wider scope than the summary diabetes measures contained within the CVD Profile.