Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the early detection of heart valve disease in primary care settings; and what assessment he has made of trends in the level of stethoscope usage in every NHS Health Check for people over 65 years old.

The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the National Health Service’s commitment to provide greater access to echocardiography in primary care to improve the early detection of heart valve disease, and advises that people with heart failure and heart valve disease will be better supported by multi-disciplinary teams as part of primary care networks.

In relation to stethoscope usage, Public Health England has advised that the NHS Health Check does not currently include formal assessment of heart sounds. Therefore, stethoscopes are not used for this purpose in the programme.

The NHS Health Check is made up of three key components: risk assessment, risk awareness and risk management. During the risk assessment, standardised tests are used to measure key risk factors and establish the individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The outcome of the assessment is then used to raise awareness of cardiovascular risk factors, as well as inform a discussion on, and agreement of, the behavioural and medical approaches best suited to managing the individual’s health risk.