Why is it an important issue for us?

The Numbers

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, taking around 17.9 million lives each year. More than 4 out of 5 deaths due to cardiovascular disease are caused by heart attacks and strokes. One third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years old. In the UK, cardiovascular disease affects around seven million people and is a significant cause of disability and premature mortality. It is responsible for one in four premature deaths in the UK and accounts for the largest gap in healthy life expectancy.

The impact of Covid-19

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found that nearly 100,000 more people with cardiovascular disease than expected have died since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, an average of over 500 additional deaths per week. Excess deaths were higher for cardiovascular disease than for any other disease group analysed and have remained high even as Covid-19 deaths have fallen.

Many factors are thought to be contributory, including the severe disruption to NHS heart care and the increased risk of heart attack and stroke following Covid-19 infection.

The inequalities

Cardiovascular disease is one of the conditions most strongly associated with health inequalities. Those in the most deprived 10% of the population are almost twice as likely to die as a result of cardiovascular disease than those in the least deprived 10% of the population. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease is more common where a person is male, older, has a severe mental illness or is of South Asian or African Caribbean ethnicity. 

Part of this picture is that people living in the most deprived areas are more likely to experience risk factors for cardiovascular disease, like smoking, being physically inactive or being obese. They are less likely to access preventative treatment, like cardiac rehabilitation or elective heart procedures, but have higher rates of emergency hospital admissions. 

It links to everything else in our lives

The development of cardiovascular disease, the impact it has on our health and the risk of it causing death are all significantly influenced by the wider structural and social determinants of health. These include the built and natural environment around us, our education and work, childhood experiences, income and poverty, race and gender.

These all influence our behavioural choices such as smoking and drinking alcohol, and our access to healthy choices such as nutritious food and the time and space to be physically active. They also affect our understanding of our health and how easy it is for us to access healthcare.

The process of developing, and therefore preventing, cardiovascular disease is complicated. While this can present a challenge in tackling it, it also gives us many different routes to support healthy hearts.

There is something we can do about it

We have evidence for many different interventions to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease on individuals and the population as a whole. Statins - medications which improve our cholesterol levels - have been thoroughly researched over the years. One study in the UK showed that high-intensity statin treatment reduced people’s risk of cardiovascular events by 40%. 

We know that a nutritious diet including high amounts of fruit, vegetables, legumes and fish are associated with lower risk of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease. 

Consistent moderate physical activity reduces risk from cardiovascular disease in several ways, including lowering blood pressure and improving cholesterol.