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“Too many people are dying early from heart attacks and strokes that we know are preventable.” This simple truth underpins the new Modern Service Framework for Cardiovascular Disease and the renewed focus on preventing ill health before it happens.

Cardiovascular disease is a major driver of poor health, widening inequalities and growing economic inactivity. Improving cardiovascular health is central to the Government’s mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future.

Yet much cardiovascular disease is preventable through earlier identification and effective management of the high-risk conditions that lead to heart attacks and strokes. The Government has committed to reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease by 25%, while the NHS 10 Year Health Plan acknowledges that secondary prevention has not received the attention it deserves.

Published last month, the new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (MSF) sets out a clear roadmap to achieve this ambition. Its focus is on earlier detection of risk factors, proactive management of long-term conditions and supporting people to stay healthier for longer.

The potential impact is significant. In the North East and Yorkshire alone, improving the management of four key high-risk conditions – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and chronic kidney disease – could, over the next three years:

• prevent 8255 heart attacks and strokes
• save 63,322 bed days
• save £153m in health and social care costs
• generate £169m in productivity gains

The time to act is now.

Three things stand out in the Modern Service Framework:

The acronym has changed from CVDRM to CVKM

Rather than considering cardiovascular disease in isolation, the MSF adopts a cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) approach, recognising the close relationship between heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and obesity. The “k” for kidney replaces “R” for renal as a term that is better understood by populations.

It also reflects the opportunity to support patients holistically, managing all their risk factors in one go rather than management of multiple organs often meaning multiple appointments for patients.

Years ago, when I first started working in CVD prevention with the indomitable Matt Kearney, we spoke to patients about what matters to them and their care: the response was emphatic – talk to us about our health in the fullest, most holistic sense – talk to us about all our risk factors.

The recognition of the impact of gender

It’s less well known that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women.

In the UK, it claims around three times as many women’s lives each year as breast cancer. The Modern Service Framework’s explicit focus on addressing inequalities in women’s cardiovascular health is therefore both timely and essential. At Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, we’re looking forward to bringing together our work on CVD and women’s health to tackle this head on.

The Framework highlights that men and women experience CVD differently and that risk is managed differently.

Digital and AI are central to the MSF

Digital and AI are no longer described as optional enablers of better care. They are fundamental to how the NHS expects cardiovascular services to be delivered in the future.

Artificial intelligence is recognised as having a role in identifying people at risk, supporting clinical decision-making and improving ongoing management of people living with cardiovascular disease.

Remote monitoring using wearable medical devices is expected to become routine from 2028, enabling people to better understand and manage their own cardiovascular health.

The NHS App will be the designated front door to healthcare, with the future NHS Health Store providing access to accredited digital tools that can support behaviour change, self-management and long-term condition management.

As someone with a remit across CVD and digital, I was excited by the opportunities and look forward to the publication of the MSF implementation plan in the autumn.

North East and Yorkshire CVDRM Fellowship

The MSF was published the day before we brought together Fellows from our Cardiovascular Renal Metabolic (soon to be renamed CVKM!) Fellowship for their midpoint check in. Through this Fellowship we are supporting 60 Fellows lead projects to prevent the preventable.

To me the day was a timely reminder of the enormous work and commitment to improving outcomes that is being carried out day in day out by colleagues over and above the day job.

The Fellowship supports a range of projects across the North East and Yorkshire.  From earlier identification of risk factors in higher risk groups, such as taxi drivers and fishing communities, to provision of one-stop services and improved coding for people with chronic kidney disease, the Fellowship has demonstrated the principles set out in the MSF in practice.  We look forward to sharing the impact of these projects later this year.