Guidance

Cardiovascular disease data and analysis: guide for health professionals

Explains how commissioners and health professionals can use data and analysis for decisions about cardiovascular services and interventions.

This guidance is for commissioners, public health directors and others involved in the local planning and provision of services and interventions that support people with cardiovascular disease (CVD) conditions.

Public Health England (PHE) collates and analyses available CVD data and produces intelligence resources to help with improving services and outcomes. This guidance supports health professionals with using these resources to make or influence decisions about local services.

Cardiovascular disease includes:

  • atrial fibrillation (an irregular heart rate)
  • coronary heart disease
  • diabetes
  • hypercholesterolemia (excess cholesterol)
  • hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • kidney disease
  • peripheral vascular disease (affecting blood vessels)
  • stroke
  • vascular dementia (caused by reduced blood flow to the brain)

See NHS.UK for further information on cardiovascular disease conditions.

CVD primary care intelligence packs

The CVD primary care intelligence packs can help healthcare professionals make decisions about how to improve local primary care.

There is a pack with local CVD information for each clinical commissioning group (CCG). The packs look at prevention, diagnosis, care and outcomes and allow for comparison between CCGs and between GP practices.

Use the pack to identify local variation and ask questions about where and how the quality of care may be improved.

The data used in the packs are from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) unless otherwise indicated.

Summary profiles of cardiovascular data

The summary profiles can help healthcare professionals to have a broad understanding of cardiovascular conditions in their area, how these conditions are treated and how their area compares with others.

Use the profiles to understand the impact of cardiovascular related conditions on your local population, identify emerging issues and to help to improve services.

Cardiovascular disease profiles

There are CVD profiles for each CCG, looking at coronary heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and stroke. The profiles compare the subject CCG with data for England, a group of similar CCGs and its sustainability transformation partnership (STP). The datasets used to produce the summary profiles are also available.

Diabetes footcare profiles

There are diabetes footcare activity profiles for each CCG that include information on the inpatient care of people with diabetes who are admitted to hospital for a range of footcare conditions. The profiles compare data from the subject CCG with similar CCGs.

Estimates of CVD prevalence

The CVD estimates can help healthcare professionals understand the prevalence of cardiovascular conditions among certain populations (for example, by sex or age) in their area. Some of the datasets also show the variation in the condition across the local area and between CCGs.

Use the data to estimate how many people in your local area have a particular CVD diagnosis and how many people may be undiagnosed. This can help with planning services and improving outcomes for patients.

The data used in these estimates are from various sources. The estimates use data from local authorities, CCGs and GP practices.

Atrial fibrillation prevalence estimates for local populations

Chronic kidney disease estimates for local and regional populations

Diabetes prevalence estimates for local populations

Hypertension prevalence estimates for local populations

Non-diabetic hyperglycaemia prevalence in England

Spending on care

There are 2 outcomes versus expenditure tools:

Diabetes outcomes versus expenditure (DOVE)

CVD ROI tool

Healthcare professionals can use the tools to compare spending on care of these conditions and the outcomes for patients.

Use the data to identify where spending is working well to help make improvements to care in other areas.

The tools use data from GP practices and CCGs.

Other resources

The diabetes variation in inpatient activity (VIA) tool shows how inpatient activity for patients with diabetes differs from a similar patient population without diabetes.

First incidence of stroke: estimates for England 2007 to 2016 reports the estimated total number of first strokes in England in 2016, trends and differences in stroke incidence by age, gender, ethnicity and deprivation.

The atrial fibrillation data intelligence packs, published by the Stroke Association, give practical tips to GP practices and CCGs on how they can get better at preventing and treating strokes. There are intelligence packs for each CCG.

The blood pressure data intelligence packs, published by the British Heart Foundation, give recommendations for GP practices and CCGs on how they can improve care for patients with high blood pressure. There are intelligence packs for each CCG.

Further information

PHE’s National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network (NCVIN) produces these resources for commissioners and other health professionals to help them improve cardiovascular services and outcomes for patients. For further guidance and information about the cardiovascular disease tools and analysis please email ncvin@phe.gov.uk.

Published 3 May 2017
Last updated 14 October 2019 + show all updates
  1. Added 'Diabetes variation in inpatient activity (VIA) tool' to list of resources.

  2. Added link to 'First incidence of stroke: estimates for England 2007 to 2016' under 'Other resources'.

  3. Updated link to diabetic Fingertips profiles.

  4. First published.