Guidance

This guideline covers the main risk factors linked with cardiovascular disease: poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. It aims to reduce the high incidence of cardiovascular disease. This, in turn, will help prevent other major causes of death and illness, such as type 2 diabetes and many cancers.

Last reviewed: 22 June 2010

Next review: This guidance will be reviewed if there is new evidence that is likely to change the recommendations.

Recommendations

This guideline includes recommendations for policy: a national framework for action and recommendations for practice. Topics covered include:

  • how to reduce the nation’s consumption of salt, saturated fats and trans fats
  • commercial interests
  • product labelling
  • public sector catering guidelines
  • regional CVD prevention programmes
  • health impact assessments of regional and local plans and policies
  • take-aways and other food outlets

Who is it for?

  • National government
  • NHS and local authorities
  • Industry
  • Commissioners, managers and practitioners working in the above and in the wider public, private, voluntary and community sectors
  • Members of the public

Guideline development process

How we develop NICE guidelines

Your responsibility

The recommendations in this guideline represent the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.

All problems (adverse events) related to a medicine or medical device used for treatment or in a procedure should be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using the Yellow Card Scheme.

Local commissioners and providers of healthcare have a responsibility to enable the guideline to be applied when individual professionals and people using services wish to use it. They should do so in the context of local and national priorities for funding and developing services, and in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to reduce health inequalities. Nothing in this guideline should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with complying with those duties.

Commissioners and providers have a responsibility to promote an environmentally sustainable health and care system and should assess and reduce the environmental impact of implementing NICE recommendations wherever possible.