Why is CVD education important?
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
Diseases of the heart and circulatory system (CVD) are the main cause of death in the UK. According to statistics
recently published by the British Heart Foundation, CVD accounts for almost 198,000 deaths a year. More than 1
in 3 of all deaths (35%) each year are from CVD.
The main forms of CVD are coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Other medical conditions covered by this
term include diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and chronic kidney disease.
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
About half (48%) of all CVD deaths are from CHD. By itself it is the most common cause of death in the UK (94,000
deaths per year). Around 1 in 5 men and 1 in 7 women die from CHD every year.
Who is most at risk?
Damage to the heart and blood vessels increases with age. CVD is known to progress faster in men than in women, in those
with a family history of such disease and in some ethnic groups.
Where a person lives and their personal circumstances can also increase their likelihood of dying from CVD. UK death rates
from CHD are highest in Scotland and the North of England. In England and Wales there is a strong positive relationship
between deaths from CVD and levels of deprivation.
A number of these risk factors are fixed (can’t be changed); others are modifiable in that they can be positively influenced
by national, local, group or individual action.
The effects of CHD on young people
Since the 1970’s, there has been general decline in the death rate from CHD in the UK. Current statistics indicate
that this downward trend is continuing in people aged 55 and above. Worryingly, this is not the case in younger
agegroups (people under the age of 45). During the last decade, CHD death rates in this population have been
falling more slowly. Recent evidence suggests that young women are particularly at risk. Premature death rates
from CHD in women under 45 years of age may actually be starting to rise!
Data suggests that this is likely to be down to some of the life-style choices that young people (in particular
young women) make, for example smoking, taking relatively little exercise and becoming obese. These risk
factors are modifiable. ORCS aims to inform young people about such risk factors and about how and why some
behaviours and lifestyle choices can be detrimental to the health of their heart and circulatory system.
Taking action to reduce these risk factors (smoking, diet, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol
levels, alcohol and obesity), can reduce the likelihood of a person developing any type of vascular disease or slow
down/reduce the progression and/or severity of any existing disease.
The delivery of the ORCS project provides an exciting opportunity for health and education to work in partnership
with young people, actively encouraging them to adopt life-style choices that may help them to live longer,
happier, healthier lives: lives that are free from the effects of heart and circulatory disease.
All statistical information obtained from www.heartstats.org/datapage.asp?id=7998. 16th edition of Coronary Heart Disease Statistics produced by the
British Heart Foundation, 2008.
ORCS
5
Opportunities for Resuscitation
and Citizen Safety