Wales is following the example set by England in upping its efforts to prevent vascular heart disease. English councils have already launched a programme to bring this number down and now Wales is focusing its attention on the same issue.
Vascular disease is one of the biggest killers in Wales, largely because the Welsh population has a high incidence of lifestyle factors which increase the risk of higher cholesterol and therefore heart disease, such as a high smoking rate and a large number of people with sedentary lifestyles. The disease is generally caused by the hardening of the arteries, when fatty deposits in the blood stream cause arteries to thicken and block the flow of blood through the heart vessels. Currently, around 150,000 people die in the UK each year from this condition.
Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart has convened a group of clinical experts to review current strategies in place to prevent the disease, who will recommend a new model of screening, prevention and treatment tactics. The committee will be chaired by a leading expert in the disease Dr Julian Halcox, Professor in Clinical Cardiology at University Hospital Wales. Edwina Hart said: “Vascular disease is one of the biggest killers in Wales. I am delighted that Professor Halcox, as one of the foremost experts in the condition in Wales, has agreed to chair the project group."
The committee will present their findings in June 2009. In England health authorities already offer screening for vascular heart disease to those between 40 and 74 years old. A similar screening program is already being developed in Scotland.