Cardiovascular disease is the umbrella name given to conditions which affect the heart and blood vessels.

Primary cardiovascular disorders include atherosclerosis, stroke, congestive heart failure, dyslipidaemia (hypercholesterolemia), hypertension (high blood pressure), hypotension (low blood pressure), intermittent claudication, metabolic syndrome, myocardial infarction (heart attack), Raynaud's syndrome and rheumatic heart disease.

Around 7.4 million people are living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK, and it is the cause of more than a quarter of all deaths, at nearly 170,000 a year.

There are over 100,000 hospital admissions due to heart attacks per year and over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests with a survival rate of less than one in ten.

Around 1.4 million people alive in the UK today have survived a heart attack. Over 900,000 people in the UK are living with heart failure. Strokes cause over 36,000 deaths a year while also being the largest cause of severe disability. 

Atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, hypertension and metabolic syndrome are the most common cardiovascular conditions. Metabolic syndrome is a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Today, in the UK, roughly 3.9 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, a leading cause of heart disease.

People with diabetes are up to 50% more likely to have heart attacks. There are, however, many natural ways you can help to protect your heart health.

Here are our top 5 tips for preventing cardiovascular disease.