Cardiovascular Disease

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
  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD), a gradual loss of kidney function over time

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

Who this profile is for

This profile is for commissioners, public health directors and others involved in the local planning and provision of services and interventions that support people with cardiovascular disease. It aims to support understanding of cardiovascular conditions in their area, how these conditions are treated and how their area compares with others to help improve care and outcomes.

Note to users

We have removed the indicator 'Estimated prevalence of atrial fibrillation' (indicator number 91459) from the stroke domain due to the age of the estimates.   

We will remove a further 30 indicators from this profile in early 2025. See the Indicators for removal table for the full list of these. Please contact ncvin-ohid@dhsc.gov.uk if have any comments about the removal of these indicators from the profile.

Where the data come from

The data used to generate the indicators comes from different sources. It includes routine primary care data and national clinical audit data on the prevalence and condition management for CVD and CVD risk conditions, hospital records on admissions and acute care procedures, mortality data and national survey data.

Information on the primary care QOF and NDA data used for the profile can be found here in the About the data section of the diabetes profile.

How the data is organised

Indicators within the profile have been updated with one or some of the following geographies of England, local authority, integrated care board, sub-integrated care board, and regional area.

We have grouped the data into 5 topics:

  1. Risk factors. Data on the factors associated with higher chance of developing CVD, by type and different demographics.
  2. Diabetes. Data on QOF prevalence and estimated prevalence of diabetes, care, monitoring and treatment targets for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
  3. Heart. Data on QOF prevalence of heart disease and heart failure, other risk factors of patients, treatment, means of diagnosis and mortality. 
  4. Kidney. Data on QOF prevalence of chronic kidney disease, the number of people receiving kidney replacement therapy (KRT), which types of KRT they are receiving and how this has changed over time.
  5. Stroke. Data on QOF prevalence of stroke and of atrial fibrillation, treatment and stroke outcomes including mortality. 

Contact us

For enquiries or feedback relating to the cardiovascular disease profile, email ncvin-ohid@dhsc.gov.uk

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 and 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 produces data to drive CVD quality improvement at different health geographies from GP practice up to national level.

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

Diabetes profile

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

NHS Health Check Profile

The NHS Health Check programme aims to help prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and certain types of dementia.

Everyone between the ages of 40 and 74, who has not already been diagnosed with one of these conditions or have certain risk factors, will be invited once every five years to receive support and advice to help them reduce or manage their risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes.

For more information, go to the NHS Health Check profile.