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APPG Heart Disease

The APPG on Heart Disease was formed in July 2002 and is chaired by Chris Ruane MP.

The APPG on Heart Disease aims to:

  • Inform and educate parliamentarians about heart and circulatory disease, the UK's biggest killer
  • Encourage and promote work undertaken to prevent heart and circulatory disease and improve its diagnosis and treatment
  • Inform Parliamentarians about the work of the Cardio and Vascular Coalition (CVC), a national coalition of 41 voluntary organisations that have come together to improve health, and prevent illness and premature death from cardiovascular disease (CVD)
  • To inform Parliamentarians about issues concerning cardiac and vascular health.

For more information or to join the APPG email westminster@bhf.org.uk.

Recent meetings have focused on the introduction of tobacco plain packaging, women and their heart disease risk, tobacco industry tactics to undermine public health claims and our campaign with RCUK to ensure Emergency Life Support skills are taught in schools. In October, we discussed organ donation and the latest developments in Wales.

I'm an MP - why should I join the APPG on Heart Disease?

Because heart disease affects your constituents.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the biggest cause of death in the UK.

Every six minutes someone dies from a heart attack.

Around 2.7 million people in the UK are living with coronary heart disease. Nearly 1.6 million of these people are less than 75 years of age.

In the UK women are more than three times as likely to die of coronary heart disease than breast cancer.

In the UK men are more than four times as likely to die of coronary heart disease than prostate cancer.

Around one in 145 babies are born with congenital heart disease.

It is estimated that smoking causes around 25,000 deaths from heart and circulatory disease each year in the UK.

Around one in five premature deaths from heart and circulatory disease are linked to smoking.

Overall Cardio Vascular Disease is estimated to cost the UK economy £30.7 billion a year.

This is why the APPG on Heart Disease matters - and why the Government needs to go further and faster to tackle heart and circulatory disease.

Please join us in the fight to tackle the UK's biggest killer

For further information or to join the APPG please contact the Secretariat:
Public Affairs Officer, British Heart Foundation

Tel: 0207 554 0154 Email: westminster@bhf.org.uk

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