Leading charities are calling on patients in England to take part in a public survey, launched today, to ensure the Government puts cardio and vascular disease at the top of future health strategy.

The Cardio & Vascular Coalition (CVC), a group of 36 voluntary organisations, is urging people who suffer from cardio and vascular disease, their relatives, or carers to visit consultationfinder/cvc and have their say about the future of treatment and care.

Heart and circulatory diseases, which include heart disease and stroke, are the leading cause of death in England, causing more than 167,000 deaths every year. (1) Closely related conditions affect the lives of millions of people. More than 4% of adults in England have diabetes (1) and over 8% of people are affected by chronic kidney disease (2).

Betty McBride, Chair of the CVC, said: "We want to hear what really matters to people living with cardio vascular disease, and their loved ones. If we are to improve treatment and care, we must listen and learn from people with first hand experience."

The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease comes to an end in 2009/10 and there is currently no strategy to replace it. The framework has been crucial in providing a focus for the health service in reducing death and disability caused by cardio and vascular disease.

Betty McBride said: "The Government cannot take a holiday from fighting cardio and vascular disease. Heart health has improved over the last decade, but it still kills more people than any other disease. Stroke, diabetes and kidney disease are also killer diseases which place an enormous burden on the country's health. We must have a new strategy that recognises the links between these conditions, otherwise the progress that's been made will evaporate."

- The CVC is a national coalition of 36 voluntary organisations with an interest in promoting and protecting cardio and vascular health in England. The CVC is committed to working with and influencing central and local government, health and social care commissioners, service planners and policy makers to ensure that Cardio & Vascular health is high on their agendas.

- For more information visit cardiovascularcoalition

- The Cardio & Vascular Coalition member organisations are: Arrhythmia Alliance, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Blood Pressure Association, British Association for Nursing in Cardiovascular Care, British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation, British Cardiac Patients Association, British Cardiovascular Society, British Heart Foundation, British Hypertension Society, British Nuclear Cardiology Society, British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging, British Society of Echocardiography, British Society for Heart Failure, Cardiac Risk in the Young, Cardiomyopathy Association, Children's Heart Federation, Coronary Prevention Group, Diabetes UK, Genetics Interest Group, Grown Up Congenital Heart Patients Association, Heart Care Partnership (UK), Heart of Mersey, HEART UK, The Kidney Alliance, Kidney Research UK, Little Hearts Matter, Marfan Association UK, Mental Health Foundation, National Council for Palliative Care, National Heart Forum, National Obesity Forum, Primary Care Cardiovascular Society, South Asian Health Foundation, The Stroke Association, Tiny Tickers, To Transplant and Beyond

- (1) Source: Coronary heart disease statistics 2008, British Heart Foundation

- (2) Chronic kidney disease stages 3-5 affects 8.5% of the UK population. Source: Sheerin, N. (2005) Epidemiology and prognosis in advanced chronic kidney disease: Implications for palliative care. National Library for Palliative and Supportive Care

Cardio & Vascular Coalition