Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the rates of cardiovascular disease in South Suffolk constituency.

The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress on this mission and tackle unwarranted variation across the country, we will publish a cardiovascular disease (CVD) modern service framework in 2026. The framework will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.

The Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has a number of initiatives to reduce the rates of CVD, including:

- having an integrated pathway for general practitioners and pharmacies to find and support the estimated 22,500 people with undiagnosed high blood pressure and 17,000 people who are not on the correct dose of cholesterol medication;

- identifying women at high risk of CVD through general practice records, enabling earlier detection and helping to address gender disparities in diagnosis and care; and

- helping increase the uptake of the NHS Health Check, including improving the invite process, offering a choice of venue to participants, and raising awareness through print and social media.