Cardiovascular Health Checks

I recently received a cardiovascular health check at the House of Commons where I welcomed the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) and HEART UK’s call for cardiovascular health checks to be made available in every PCT in England.

The health check, carried out by health screeners from the PCCS, and supported by Heart UK and Flora pro.activ, was a demonstration of the cardiovascular health checks now being introduced. In 2008 the Government announced the introduction of a national cardiovascular prevention programme, the NHS Health Check, for those aged 40 to 74 years.

NHS health checks are intended to improve significantly the heart health of the population and are currently being rolled out across England. 

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability in the UK and so it is vital that those within the age range most affected receive cardiovascular health checks. I want to congratulate PCCS and HEART UK for highlighting the work that is being done to tackle CVD to encourage the programme’s full and rapid roll out across the country to ensure that everyone eligible for a test receives one and is able to act on the information the check provides.