Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the general term for diseases of the heart and blood vessels. It includes coronary heart disease (such as angina and heart attacks), stroke, aneurysms and peripheral arterial disease. Coronary heart disease and stroke are the two forms that kill the most people.Most CVD is caused by atherosclerosis, the build-up of fatty deposits in artery walls, which narrows arteries and can lead to blood clots. This is why CVD is closely linked to lifestyle.CVD in the UK. CVD is one of the leading causes of death in the UK, responsible for about one in every four deaths. Millions of people in the UK are living with some form of heart or circulatory disease, and treating them costs the NHS billions of pounds a year. CVD also causes long-term disability, for example after a stroke.Changing patterns. The death rate from CVD in the UK has fallen greatly since its peak in the 1960s and 1970s. Reasons include:• fewer people smoke
• better treatments, such as drugs that lower blood pressure and cholesterol, stents and bypass surgery
• faster emergency treatment of heart attacks and strokesHowever, the number of people living with CVD is rising, because more people survive heart attacks and strokes and the population is ageing. Rates of CVD are not the same everywhere: they are higher in more deprived areas and vary between regions and ethnic groups, reflecting differences in lifestyle, access to healthcare and genetics.
• better treatments, such as drugs that lower blood pressure and cholesterol, stents and bypass surgery
• faster emergency treatment of heart attacks and strokesHowever, the number of people living with CVD is rising, because more people survive heart attacks and strokes and the population is ageing. Rates of CVD are not the same everywhere: they are higher in more deprived areas and vary between regions and ethnic groups, reflecting differences in lifestyle, access to healthcare and genetics.