A study released by the british foundation last month showed that whilst the number of people living with heart failure rose by 15 per cent only five per cent over the age of 45 cited heart failure as a concern.

Thirty-seven per cent, on the other hand, named cancer as their most feared disease, despite the fact that "the survival rate for heart failure is worse than that of breast and prostate cancer".

Very few could adequately define what heart failure was, how long it took to kill you and what the symptoms were. But the heart is only one part of the much bigger picture of the cardio-vascular system, says the Medical Director of the British Vascular Foundation, Dr Tony Chant.

There are many people dying of other diseases of the vascular system such as aneurysm, stroke and kidney failure which could also have been prevented. But the problem with the vascular system is that by the time symptoms present themselves it is often too late for the patient: "Very sadly the next thing you might know is you're dead," says Dr Chant.

"The government are only just taking it on board with scanning the major arteries of men over the age of 60 just like with breast cancer. It is a simpler test than breast cancer and the yield is dramatic. And the costs are immeasurably cheaper than breast cancer to save a life."

However there is a condition that has clear symptoms which can predict whether a patient is at risk of suffering a heart attack, aneurysm or stroke. Intermittent claudication is such a condition. The term claudication is derived from the Latin to "limp". Caused by a build-up of cholesterol plaque in the iliac and femoral arteries, intermittent claudication results in a cramp-like pain in the legs or buttocks as a consequence of muscle being deprived of oxygen. Fatty deposits in the arteries obstruct the blood flow, hence restrict oxygen supply, to the legs.

Intermittent claudication is a symptom of peripheral heart disease (hardening of the arteries) in the legs. And that is a good predictor that it could also be happening elsewhere in the body such as the heart and arteries leading to the brain, stomach and kidneys.

IC is usually found in people over the age of 55. Estimates vary as to how many people are affected by this condition, but it is believed to affect around five per cent of men and 2.5 per cent of women over 50 years of age with some estimates putting it as high as 10 per cent of the elderly population.

At present there remains very little awareness of the serious nature of vascular disease. It is a question which Dr Chant's charity has struggled with now for about seven or eight years. "Unlike heart disease it is very difficult to get people's minds around these other circulation problems," says the retired Vascular Surgeon.

"Most of the patients I operated on when I was an active surgeon were a nightmare for the anaesthetist. I could do the plumbing and sort out the blocked artery, but the anaesthetist was faced with people who had trouble in their hearts and in the arteries to their brains so they were technically quite challenging."

Although the BVF did receive "a little bit of pump priming" from the government to get it going, the charity basically suffers with not being "a head-line grabber".

Sufferers of intermittent claudication can do a lot to improve their condition, particularly through exercise. Walking is particularly good and sufferers who participate in regular walking should find that the pain will gradually decrease in duration and intensity. Sufferers can be prescribed medication to help them with the pain that they experience whilst exercising, and aspirin is often prescribed to reduce the likelihood of blockages.

However says Dr Chant: "A lot of people with intermittent claudication are so disabled that many of them don't even walk long enough to make the pain start. Something like 5-10 per cent of people after the age of 60 have got this problem but are unaware of it simply because they do not exercise enough."

There is "certainly some merit" in walking as a remedy says Dr Chant. "But of course you are often talking to relatively ignorant group who have trouble with their heart and they are fat and trying to get them out of this vicious cycle is really quite tricky by that stage."

It is also vitally important that those smokers with the condition cease to smoke. With ingrained patterns of behaviour, very few of his patients "actually took my advice and gave up smoking and lost a bit of weight. It is quite a hard thing to do after 50 or 60 years of self-abuse".

Diet is also another factor which should be considered to cut down on the intake of saturated fat and so limit the "cholesterol" plaque build-up in the arteries. Soluble fibre in porridge oats is particularly good. Diabetics with the condition should take particular notice as diabetes is responsible for around 25 per cent of all amputations. To avoid ulceration the British Vascular Foundation advises sufferers to make regular trips to the chiropodist to "make sure that your shoes fit properly".

In extreme cases sufferers may have to undergo bypass surgery: "It is like a bomb threat on part of London Underground: the circulation, having one bit blocked off, the passengers can filter around and go through another way. It is less efficient and less direct but there are ways of coping with it and the body is really quite elastic to that extent and it can get around it. That is nature's way of doing it. But if nature doesn't cope then the blood vessels get worse and worse and you'll end-up getting into a situation with gangrene and threatened amputation."

The fact is, says Dr Chant, that "vascular disease is a total body problem. The heart, the brain, the legs, the kidneys, economy class syndrome - it is all to do with circulation and roughly one in two of us die of it. Something like 10 per cent of people on renal dialysis are due to the arteries of kidneys being blocked off, so it is the same hardening of the arteries process. Similarly with the weaknesses in the arteries called aneurysms. But there are dramatic differences [in survival] if you pick these things up early. For example a ruptured aneurysm is something like 90 per cent fatal. But a simple scanning of the artery, if it is picked-up it is 95 per cent curable. It is trying to get the government and other people's minds around the totality of vascular disease - many of these things are the tip of the iceberg.

"For example - it is an incredible statistic - something like two per cent of the NHS budget is spent treating little old ladies with leg ulcers. And this is all to do with peripheral vascular disease.

"Somebody in the government needs to take on board a less focused view. Governments love to focus on hard things like the heart, but it can't get its mind round the bigger picture".

Time for a NSF for vascular disease then - not just for the heart?

"Yes, its time the government got its mind around it."

Symptoms of intermittent claudication (pain in the legs when exercising)

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