Heart disease
The prevalence of coronary heart disease in the borough of Rochdale is 3.3 per cent of the population (Quality Outcomes Framework, 2021/22). This is above the national rate of 3 per cent.
What is heart disease?
Heart disease is one of a number of cardiovascular diseases that are conditions that affect the heart or blood vessels. It's usually associated with a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries and an increased risk of blood clots (NHS, 2016).
It can also be associated with damage to arteries in organs such as the brain, heart, kidneys and eyes. Coronary heart disease occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced, thereby putting increased strain on the heart.
This can lead to angina which causes chest pains due to restricted blood flow to the heart muscle, heart attacks which occur when blood flow to the heart muscle is suddenly blocked and heart failure which is when the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly.
Risk factors associated with heart disease
Some risk factors associated with heart disease are non-modifiable, which means we can't control them. These include age (the risk increases as you get older), gender (before age 60 men are at greater risk) and family history (there is an increased risk if a close blood relative experienced early heart disease).
However, there are other risk factors that we can change. These include; high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, being overweight/obese, inactivity, drinking excessively and excessive stress.
Statistics on heart disease
- NHS Digital – Quality Outcome Framework - prevalence of heart disease in the borough can be viewed through the Quality Outcomes Framework tool on the NHS Digital site. It also allows you to see data down to GP Practice level for a number of conditions.
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Cardiovascular disease: Heart disease profile report - the National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network (NCVIN) tool presents an overview of data on cardiovascular and cardiovascular-related conditions of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. The profiles include data on mortality, hospital admissions, procedures and disease management.
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Premature mortality visualisation tool - the Longer Lives mortality tool highlights premature mortality across every local authority in England, giving people important information to help them improve their community's health. It includes data for heart disease and stroke.
Guidance and information on heart disease
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Cardiovascular disease prevention: Action plan - this guidance from Public Health England details their action plan for cardiovascular prevention in 2017/18. It is intended for those involved in the commissioning and provision of services for cardiovascular disease and its prevention.
- National Institute of Health and Social Care Excellence (NICE) guidance - Cardiovascular conditions - NICE has produced a number of documents that cover heart disease including guidance on cardiovascular disease prevention, identifying and supporting people at risk and risk assessment.