The NHS needs to take a more ‘holistic’ approach to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk across a range of associated conditions, a group of charities and professional organisations have warned.
A ‘shared vision’ from 15 groups including the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society and National Association of Primary Care, said the NHS should build on other successful disease awareness campaigns to boost public knowledge of cardiovascular risk.
And a wider range of healthcare staff should be trained on cardiovascular risk and associated conditions, such as diabetes and chronic kidney disease, to make every contact with patients count, the report said.
It echoes comments made by the chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty earlier this month that responsibilities for CVD prevention should be extended beyond general practice.
Among eight recommendations in the vision document was a call to align primary care incentive programmes with clinical guidelines for testing and treatment of CVD and CVD-risk conditions.
The report, funded by AstraZeneca and also supported by Diabetes UK and Community Pharmacy England among others, said the Department of Health and Social Care should also expand the scope of the NHS health check to cover wider range of clinical checks such as urine albumin-creatinine ratio, the report said.
Too often the healthcare system’s approach to managing CVD and related conditions is the use of siloed pathways with patients being independently assessed for each. As a result, opportunities are missed to diagnose those at risk at an earlier stage, the groups warned.
Services need to be delivered in a range of settings partly to reduce pressure on general practice but also to make it easier for patients to access prevention, screening, diagnostic and management in a range of settings including the pharmacy, workplace or supermarket.
More also needs to be done to tackle inequalities and to make better use of data and technology to help people manage their conditions more effectively, it added.
It is welcome that cardiovascular disease is included in the Government’s Major Conditions Strategy, currently under development, but future policies should look at a combined cardiac, renal and metabolic approach to tackling conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease, the report said.
By 2040, the projected number of diagnosed cases of diabetes is expected to rise by 49%, with cases of heart failure and chronic kidney disease predicted to increase by 92% and 34%, respectively.
Professor Raj Thakkar, GP and president of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society, said: ‘This shared vision report represents a landmark collaboration, uniting charities, medical associations, and healthcare practitioners in our commitment to improving CVD outcomes in England.
‘Through collective efforts, we can continue to work towards a future where cardiovascular health is prioritised, outcomes are improved, and the burden on the NHS is reduced.’
