Currently, 50% of all heart attacks and strokes can be preventable.

Effective prevention has now become a priority for healthcare professionals and the Department of Health in the UK has aimed to reduce heart disease by 40% in people under 75 by the year 2010. Preventative treatment can reduce heart attacks and strokes by half, (DH, 2008) so the question is how do we identify those that need it?

The big facts on heart attacks and strokes

- Since 1985, the single biggest killer in the UK was heart disease, with around 120,000 people dying in the UK from coronary heart disease last year. If detected earlier and prior to any symptoms, the risk of developing fatal heart disease can be substantially reduced.
- Around 100,000 people suffer a stroke each year, with a further 40,000 people in the UK experiencing a TIA. With early detection, the risk of incurring a stroke can be avoided by appropriate changes in lifestyle and early treatment of unknown symptoms.

Ultrasound can now be used to detect early arterial wall thickening and the build up cholesterol or plaques in the arteries. The technique is accurate, quick, simple and noninvasive.

This thickening and build up can be identified before there are any symptoms – enabling any concerns to be treated quickly and effectively.

Our team at the VNSDC provides a service using ultrasound for the assessment of cardiovascular risk and a diagnostic service to doctors who have patients with circulatory problems (arteries or veins). In addition, we carry out research in the development of more effective and inexpensive methods for the early detection and prevention of cardiovascular disease.