Cardiovascular disease is the medical term for heart attacks, strokes and other diseases of the circulation. These serious conditions are common causes of both death and severe disability, particularly in western society. In the UK the further north you live, the greater the risk you have of developing these serious problems.

Both men and women are affected (although women are largely protected from heart disease until after the menopause) and for so many people problems of the circulation tend to run in families. However, there are many risk factors that can be identified and treated, either by your doctor or yourself, or more commonly a combination of both.

Here at Marple Cottage Surgery we are keen to help you to prevent heart attacks and strokes from occurring and recurring. To do this, we test people (screen) for the presence of risk factors, eg smoking, high blood pressure and high blood fat levels (cholesterol), which can increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Once identified there is a lot that we and you can do to reduce them.

We operate a screening recall programme and will routinely send out appointments to our patients.