Introduction
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an umbrella term for all diseases that affect the heart and circulatory system. This includes heart disease, cardiomyopathy, stroke, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
Cardiovascular disease accounts for more than 25% of all deaths in the UK, which equates to approximately 160,000 deaths each year. Approximately 7 million people in the UK currently live with CVD in one form or another.1
Deaths from coronary heart disease show a geographical distribution being highest in Scotland and the north of England and lowest in the south of England.1
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) estimate the total cost of premature death, lost productivity, hospital treatment and prescriptions relating to cardiovascular disease at £19 billion annually.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this module you will be able to:
- Identify risk factors for the development of CVD.
- Discuss minimising the impact of these factors with patients.
- Recognise the roles of the different assessment tools in identifying CV risk.