Prevention Of Heart Attacks

40% of all early heart attacks could be prevented if the partners and relatives of people with heart disease were routinely screened.

It is not routine to screen the families of heart attack victims in the way that the relatives of people with hereditary cancers are offered advice. About 29.2 million adults were at risk of premature heart attacks in England and Wales in 2001. In 2004 there were 15,616 hospital admissions for premature heart attack. If patients with a family history had been counselled, monitored and, if necessary, given drug treatment, their risk could have been reduced by 88%, and 6,485 heart attacks could have been prevented.

The NHS needs to be oriented around prevention.

- Healthy eating and active exercise would lead to less long-term costs in diabetes and obesity.
- Lower salt intake, less processed foods, and more fibre leads to less strokes.
- Regular NHS dental checkups leads to less need for dental surgery in the long-term.