Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 July 2026.

National framework launched to help reduce premature deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter over the next decade.

• New partnership with Diabetes UK to educate public on links between cardiovascular disease and diabetes and how to reduce risks for millions of people
• Action to tackle the 70% of preventable cardiovascular disease linked to risk factors including high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and other behaviours to help reduce pressure on NHS and reduce health inequalities

Thousands of lives could be saved and millions more improved as the government sets out plans for the health and care system to help cut the one in four early deaths caused by heart disease and strokes.

Today (Tuesday 7 July) the government has launched the Cardiovascular disease modern service framework, which will be used to drive better prevention, earlier diagnosis, faster treatment  and more consistent care through health and care services across the country.

Every 3 minutes somebody in the UK dies from heart or circulatory disease with around 33,000 people dying prematurely from heart disease and stroke every year.

The framework supports the government’s ambition to cut premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% over the next 10 years and will be supported through a series of partnerships between government and charities – beginning today with Diabetes UK.

The partnership with Diabetes UK will raise awareness of the links between type 2 diabetes and heart disease and include a public awareness campaign as well as greater use of the Know Your Risk tool so people better understand the risks to their health and the positive actions they can take.

Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are closely linked, with people living with diabetes or prediabetes at significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke. More than 4 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, with a further 1.3 million thought to be living with it without knowing.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, James Murray, said:

Too many people are dying early from heart attacks and strokes that we know are preventable.

This is not good enough and that’s why we are setting clear priorities to help people stay healthier for longer, identify and diagnose serious disease much earlier, and deliver better treatment when it is needed.

But we know we cannot do all this by ourselves. That is why I am proud of our new partnership with Diabetes UK, the first of many, through which we will work closely with expert organisations to help people reduce their risk of getting ill and know where to get help.

Supporting delivery of the 10 Year Health Plan, the framework marks a clear shift from reactive care to prevention, improving population health while reducing pressure on NHS services.

The framework will establish 12 immediate priorities over the next 3 years, setting out initiatives local health and care systems should deliver to cut mortality and reduce inequalities.

Priorities include:

• finding and supporting people with high-risk conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and heart failure, to stay healthier for longer through better management and personalised care
• ensuring people who have a heart attack or stroke receive faster, higher quality treatment when every minute counts
• improving access to rehabilitation and ongoing support so people can recover well and return to everyday life

Successful implementation of the framework could prevent between 1,600 and 2,400 premature deaths annually from heart disease and stroke (in those aged under 75) in the first 3 years, and between 3,850 and 4,900 such deaths per year after 10 years, while supporting wider efforts across the health and care system to improve outcomes.

Public Health Minister, Sharon Hodgson MP, said:

Thousands of lives are being cut short every year by preventable conditions. We know how to prevent and treat these conditions and we must do more to ensure people are getting the help they need.

The new cardiovascular disease modern service framework is an important step forward, committing local services to work together and deliver care for the people most in need. This is how we move from reactive care to prevention.

Colette Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said:

We’re pleased to be partnering with the Department of Health and Social Care to support its goal of reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease over the next decade.

Diabetes can lead to serious complications, including heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions, but the risk of these can be reduced if people have equitable access to high-quality care.

We welcome the focus these new plans place on finding and supporting those at risk of type 2 diabetes and preventing the condition where possible. These improvements will also help people living with all types of diabetes manage their condition better and live longer, healthier lives.

Professor Frankie Swords, National Medical Director of NHS England, said:

Millions of people are living with common risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes without even knowing it, putting them at increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Through our prevention accelerators, NHS staff are already working with local partners to find those most at risk and offer them the right support and treatment before a silent health problem turns into a potentially life-threatening emergency.

This new partnership with Diabetes UK will build on that work, ensuring even more people understand their risk, so they are able take steps to improve their health with the support of NHS staff.

Our cardiovascular disease modern service framework sets out how we will cut premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within a decade.

We will do this by shifting care closer to home, prioritising early diagnosis and prevention, and by delivering joined-up cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic care.

The prevention accelerators programme, which launched last month, will help deliver the priorities set out in the framework, bringing together local NHS services, councils and community partners to identify people at risk, improve uptake of high-impact cardiovascular disease and diabetes interventions and support healthier behaviours.

Jules Payne, Chief Executive of Heart UK, the cholesterol charity, said:

We applaud the government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular disease, as set out in the modern service framework.

High cholesterol is a key risk factor for heart attack and stroke, so raised cholesterol needs to be prevented, diagnosed and managed earlier rather than later in life.

We also need to better detect and manage inherited lipid (or blood fat) conditions such as familial hypercholesterolaemia and lipoprotein(a). Heart UK looks forward to being involved in the implementation of this strategy to better tackle prevention together.

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said:

Today’s publication cements cardiovascular disease as a national priority and is a significant step towards saving more lives from heart attack and stroke.

With extraordinary pressure on the NHS, and cardiovascular disease claiming one life every 4 minutes in England, this focus on cardiovascular care cannot come too soon.

We welcome plans to double down on prevention, as keeping people healthy and preventing disease in the first place is how we meet the scale of this challenge. It shows the government is serious about its ambition to reduce early deaths.

We look forward to working alongside government to help deliver the change that patients need.

Juliet Bouverie OBE, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, said:

We welcome the government’s renewed commitment to both saving and improving the lives of people affected by cardiovascular disease, including stroke. At a time when more people of all ages are having strokes, this has never been more urgently needed.

We look forward to partnering with the government and NHS, so these changes become reality for the 240 people who survive stroke every day in the UK.

We know that implementation needs to tackle the inequalities which all too often blight stroke prevention and treatment as well as ongoing recovery. Only then will stroke patients not only survive, but also get the rehabilitation and support they need to recover and rebuild their lives.

Alison Railton, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Kidney Research UK, said:

People with chronic kidney disease are 20 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than kidney failure, but early intervention can reduce these risks. Of the 7.2 million people in the UK with kidney disease, around half are undiagnosed, often living in the dark until crisis point.

That makes the government’s commitment to targeted testing vital to finding the missing millions. We look forward to working with the government to help deliver the changes set out in this strategy, including better access to life-saving drugs such as SGLT2 inhibitors, which can slow kidney disease progression and protect heart health.

Greg Fell OBE, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:

Like with many conditions, cardiovascular disease can only be reduced by working together to tackle its causes and manage its impacts, and today’s announcement shows a clear commitment to support national and local partnerships to do just that.

Alongside improving diagnosis, creating environments which reduce the chance of developing cardiovascular disease is crucial to reducing deaths.

Directors of public health and their teams already work in partnership with charities, primary care and the wider health system to build healthier places for us all to live, work and play in, regardless of our background or where we live, and are uniquely placed to support this work, helping to save lives now, and prevent heart and circulatory diseases for generations to come.

Background information

The framework will introduce priority areas for change designed to:

• use neighbourhood outreach, population health tools and digital records to locate the missing millions of people with undiagnosed cardiovascular disease or whose lifestyles put them at increased risk
• better target and manage the care for those at higher risk of conditions including high cholesterol or blood pressure, and increase the proportion of people with well-managed high blood pressure to 80% over the next 3 years
• bring a renewed focus on underserved groups and communities who already experience health inequalities
• speed up and improve acute care for stroke, reducing treatment delays
• improve access to rehabilitation

The programme forms part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, shifting the NHS from treating illness to preventing it, while helping to reduce pressure on GP services and hospitals.

This announcement follows on from the June launch of 5 prevention accelerators to test new ways of identifying people at risk of serious illness earlier and helping them stay healthier for longer.

Prevention accelerators programme

The programme is an important part of the government’s commitment to shift the health service from treating sickness to preventing illness.

The first prevention accelerators are being established in Greater London, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire and the West Midlands. The initial focus will be on preventing cardiovascular disease and related conditions, as cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of premature death in England.

The programme will support local NHS organisations, local councils, mayoral combined authorities and community partners to work together and identify people at risk before they become seriously unwell.

Prevention accelerators will help more people access blood pressure checks and earlier support to manage conditions that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The initiative will test innovative, community-led approaches that can be expanded across the country if proven successful.

The programme aims to tackle health inequalities by targeting communities where preventable illness and premature death are highest. Evidence suggests that improving blood pressure control could prevent millions of healthcare episodes over the next decade, reducing pressure on GP practices and hospitals.

Learning from the 5 prevention accelerator sites will inform future efforts to improve prevention services and help people live longer, healthier lives.

Prevention accelerators is about actively finding people at risk earlier and better managing their condition, including by taking simple health checks into everyday settings where people already are, rather than waiting for them to turn up at GP surgeries or in A&E.