The number of deaths each year from cardiovascular disease (CVD) has nearly halved in the UK since the early 1980s. There are many reasons for this success, but 25%-50% of the decline in deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) can be attributed to secondary prevention in high-risk patients. However, despite the hard work of GPs and other health professionals, CVD continues to be responsible for around one third of deaths in both men and women in the UK. There is also little evidence that health inequalities are disappearing. Cardiovascular mortality continues to be highest among the lowest socio-economic groups, ethnicity remains a strong influence on risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, and Scots continue to be at higher risk than their English, Welsh or Northern Irish counterparts. It therefore remains essential to target all major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidaemia, especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).
