Director of Public Health Annual Report 2022: Preventing heart disease and stroke in Buckinghamshire

This section highlights the national picture. There is less data available at a Buckinghamshire level but that which we do have shows a similar picture and is included in the following section.

The risk of cardiovascular disease increases with age and is generally higher in men, certain ethnic groups and people living in more deprived areas. People with severe mental illness and some people with learning disability are also at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The reasons for this are complex and reflect a mix of interlinked factors such as living and working conditions, exposure to chronic stress, opportunities to adopt healthy behaviours and biological factors. If we are to tackle inequalities in health it is important to identify the modifiable risk factors that can help prevent or delay cardiovascular disease in these groups.