"Know your cholesterol like your PIN"

People are encouraged to know their cholesterol and blood pressure levels, as well as their bank PIN – as this could save their lives.

These numbers signal early signs of cardiovascular disease that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Forty health organizations have joined together to encourage more people to submit to a routine NHS health check.

Doctors should also identify and treat at-risk patients better, they say.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the cause of one in four deaths in England, the equivalent of one death every four minutes, according to Public Health England and NHS England.

Poor cardiac and arterial health can also lead to heart failure, kidney disease, arterial disease and vascular dementia.

Health organizations are therefore making efforts to improve the detection and treatment of three conditions that contribute to CVD – atrial fibrillation, hypertension and elevated cholesterol – over the next 10 years.

These conditions often do not cause any symptoms, which is why health experts recommend people to undergo free NHS checkups for over 40s in GP offices, some local pharmacies and shopping malls.

They also encourage people over 30 to pbad the cardiac age test.

"I had to give up the job"

Keith Wilson of Liverpool had a sudden heart attack at age 37.

"I had no symptoms and no reason to believe I was sick," he says.

His father had died of heart disease in his late sixties, so he badumed that it was something that happened to the elderly.

"I just had not considered getting it – I was complacent," he says.

After a second heart attack, Keith had to be treated for three or four years.

He had to give up his job and it really affected his family and his young son.

Now 60 years old, Keith cares about his health and keeps a close eye on his alcohol consumption and his exercises. He stopped smoking immediately after his heart attack.

"Prevention is better than cure"

Most cases of CVD are preventable and, along with free health check-ups, PHE recommends the following:

• stop smoking
• eat healthy
• keep a healthy weight
• drink at safe levels

The report also calls on health professionals to improve their management of patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

In 2029, PHE and the NHS in England want to:

• 80% of hypertensives are detected and treated – up from 57% at present
• 75% of people aged 40 to 74 with cholesterol levels measured – less than 50% are currently on the free health check
• 45% of 40- to 74-year-olds with high risk of CVD treated with statins – compared to 35% currently

These goals will contribute to meeting the commitment to prevent 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia, as defined in the government's long-term plan for the NHS.

But there is no new funding for these new goals.

Duncan Selbie, General Manager of Public Health England, said, "We know the numbers of our pins, but not the ones that save us.

"It's possible to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes if more people knew their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and sought help right from the start."

Professor Stephen Powis, Medical Director of the NHS, said reducing health inequities was also a priority, with people in the poorest communities being four times more likely to die prematurely from cardiovascular disease than those living in poverty. the wealthiest people.

Health Secretary Matt Hanbad said, "Nearly half of people with high blood pressure live their daily lives without it being detected or treated.

"Millions of people are at risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke when it can be avoided.

"So, I want to help more people take the time to protect their future health and have their health checked."

It is estimated that five million people suffer from undiagnosed hypertension in England.