Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death and disability in England with 1 death every 4 minutes. There is an ambition across West Yorkshire to reduce CVD incidents such as heart attacks and strokes by 1,100 (10%), an estimated reduction of 350 strokes and 800 heart attacks.
West Yorkshire Healthy Hearts is an ongoing initiative that aims to contribute to the reduction of the impact of heart and circulatory disease and currently focuses on three specific risk factors:
- hypertension
- cholesterol
- atrial fibrillation
If you would like to know more about any aspect of the Healthy Hearts project please email WYHHealthyHearts@yhahsn.com or use the contact form on this website.
Managing type 2 diabetes
Previously,reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type 2 diabetes by introducing the addition of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) medication if their current treatment is not adequately controlling their HBA1c levels.
SGLT2 inhibitors are a type of oral medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. They are also called sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SLGT2i) or gliflozins. SGLT2 inhibitors are tablets that can help to lower your blood glucose (sugar) levels.
Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) therapies have robust evidence for significantly reducing CVD outcomes in people with Type 2 Diabetes who have either established CVD or are at risk of developing CVD.
The proposed diabetes treatment guidance has been developed for use in primary care and has been created following extensive stakeholder engagement across West Yorkshire with the approval of the West Yorkshire Area Prescribing Committee.
The simplified treatment guidance, adapted from the work that has started to be developed in Leeds and other regions across the country, aims to facilitate the work of primary care in managing the CVD risk in patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Evidence shows that SGLT2i can lower HBA1c levels significantly, reduce weight and lower blood pressure.
Clinical resources for primary care
Treatment guidance
Background information
UCLPartners clinical resources
- CVD resource
- Education, training and resources to support self-management and behaviour change
- 'Be active is important for your diabetes' - a leaflet developed by Moving Medicine to help patients understand why being active can help improve their health and keep diabetes under control.
The 30-minute e-module is aimed at GPs, pratice nurses and other practice staff. The content covers Non-Diabetic Hyperglycaemia(NDH, what the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme is; how it works and who is eligible. There are also some basics on motivational interviewing. The aim is to provide healthcare professionals with the tools and information they need to make quality referrals into the programme. The course is free and CPD-accredited. It can be accessed by creating a free account on the RCGP Learning site.
MECC Link - Simple Signposting to Better Health and Wellbeing
MECC Link is a simple, flexible Very Brief Intervention (VBI) and signposting tool that has been carefully designed to support Making Every Contact Count. MECC Link will help health care professionals raise awareness, motivate and signpost patients to appropriate services, helping them to maintain and improve their own health and wellbeing. At the touch of a button, you can access information on self-care services and national and local support services.
To see listings for West Yorkshire and Harrogate click here.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Resources for community pharmacies
We have developed in collaboration with Yorkshire and Humber PHE a leaflet that can support pharmacists when talking to patients about cardiovascular prevention. Please click on the image 'CVD Information for Community Pharmacy' to open the document.
There is also a valuable PHE leaflet 'How to Keep Your Heart Healthy' that offers tips and advice on how to lead a healthier life from reducing alcohol intake and having a healthier diet to reducing stress levels and sleeping better.
Resources for communities to help prevent CVD
This NHS guide provides some useful information about how communities can support people to have a better understanding of their risk of developing cardiovascular disease and what they can do to prevent it. Download the guide here.
Quick Links
Here you can find some handy quick links to help you and your patients make the changes needed to lead a heart-healthy life. And remember, there is a lot more advice, guidance and links to useful resources on our Healthier Lives page.
Digital
- MECC Link: simple signposting to better health and wellbeing
- NHS Choices Health Apps Library: listings for safe, tested apps that will help your patients monitor and manage their own health
- ORCHA: a company that works with healthcare providers and specialises in health app evaluation and their database has links to thousands of health apps, which can be searched either by category or keyword
Smoking
Your local stop smoking service can be found here.
Alcohol
Your local alcohol addiction services can be found here.
Back to top