Together we can beat heart disease

Have you been told you are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease? Then you are in the right place if you want to learn more about what this means and what you can do to improve your health. We are working with GPs and other health and care professionals across West Yorkshire and Harrogate to help reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease. Together we are supporting the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Healthy Hearts initiative to save lives by helping to prevent people from having a heart attack or stroke.

The project is delivered by Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN) working in partnership with West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and local NHS organisations in Leeds, Wakefield, Harrogate and district, North Kirklees, Greater Huddersfield, Bradford district and Craven.

Our initiative aims:

to contribute to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes in our area by over 10%
to help prevent 800 heart attacks and 350 strokes over the course of the programme
to save the local health economy more than £12 million

We have developed a number of clinical resources for healthcare professionals including treatment guidance and clinical searches that are available on the web page of this website 'Information for professionals'. Please click here to be redirected.

In West Yorkshire and Harrogate alone, more than 600,000 people are affected by high blood pressure (hypertension) - a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.

We estimate that 256,000 people (9.8%) have high blood pressure but remain undiagnosed, while 60,517 people have an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) and nearly 49,000 people have experienced a stroke or mini-stroke (TIA).

9.8%of people in West Yorkshire and Harrogate have undiagnosed high blood pressure

60,000 people have an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation)

49,000people have experienced a stroke or mini-stroke

The challenge

One in ten people in England lives with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of death and disability in the UK, but often it can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle.

Too many people are still living with undetected, high-risk conditions such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, and atrial fibrillation (AF) that can lead to cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes.

We are working with our NHS partners to provide extra support to primary care including treatment guidance and clinical searches to help identify people who need additional support alongside advice on leading a healthier lifestyle.

This website provides a central hub of clinical resources to support and facilitate the work of GP practices. These have been developed in collaboration with clinicians from across the region, building on local practice and national and international guidance.

People falling into a broken heart

Our response

We aim to help people keep their heart healthy and lower their chances of having a heart attack or stroke. To do this, the Healthy Hearts website shares practical information on:

how to live healthily and stay well
how and where you can check your blood pressure
conditions that can increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, including:

- high blood pressure

- atrial fibrillation

- high cholesterol

- type 2 diabetes

how you can help to manage and control these conditions to lower your CVD risk