Last Updated: March 27, 2026
One of the leading causes of death in the UK is Coronary heart disease (CHD). According to the World Health Organisation, in 2021 CHD was the number one cause of death for men and the third most common among women in the UK.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death across the globe, and places just third in the UK after dementia and COVID. CHD is sometimes referred to as ischaemic heart disease or coronary artery disease. CHD is a type of heart disease that happens when the arteries of the heart begin to narrow due to build-up of fatty deposits called ‘plaque’. This build-up means that the arteries cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart.
Your heart’s job
The heart is one of the most important muscles in your body and it is important to look after it. On average the heart is roughly the size of your fist and beats an average of 70 times a minute. Your heart sends oxygen-rich blood around your body through a network of arteries before the blood returns to the heart and then the lungs through your veins. Your heart gets its own supply of blood from a network of blood vessels on the surface of the heart called coronary arteries. These are the arteries effected by CHD.
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) in the UK
Coronary heart disease can affect anyone at any age. However, according to a study by the university of Oxford, between 2000 and 2019 the average age of those with at least one cardiovascular disease was 70.5 years. According to data from the British heart foundation, CHD is one of the UK’s leading causes of premature death, with one in eight men and one in fourteen women dying from CHD. To put this into perspective, CHD kills twice as many women in the UK than breast cancer.
Every eight minutes someone in the UK dies from coronary heart disease according to the British Heart Foundation, with roughly 25,000 people under the age of 75 in the UK passing away from CHD each year. In the UK alone, 2.3million people in the UK are currently living with CHD of which 1.5million of them are men.
What are the main symptoms of CHD?
There are a few warning signs to look out for when it comes to identifying CHD, such as:
- Chest pain (angina)
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in your neck, shoulders, jaw or arms
- Feeling faint
- Feeling nauseas
However, it is important to note that not everyone will have the same set of symptoms. You may experience just one or two symptoms at a time. Some people may not have any of these warning signs before being diagnosed with CHD.
What causes CHD?
Coronary heart disease is not something that happens overnight, it is the process of your arteries getting narrower due to fatty deposits growing over a long period of time. These fat deposits can be caused by lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, not maintaining an active lifestyle and your diet.
It is also more likely in individuals that have pre-existing conditions. Risk factors include things like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Risk factors infographic?
Getting CHD diagnosed
If you have noticed any of the warning signs mentioned above, you should call your GP. If your doctor feels that you are at risk of CHD, they will carry out a risk assessment.
This assessment will enquire about your personal and family’s medical history, your lifestyle and they will take a blood test.
If further testing is required to confirm whether or not you have CHD, you may be invited to take an electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, a chest x-ray and/or coronary angiogram. You may also have to have an MRI or CT scan if your doctor feels it is necessary.
For more information about how CHD is diagnosed, click here.
Can CHD be treated or cured?
Unfortunately, CHD currently does not have a cure. However, there are many ways that people diagnosed with CHD can manage and, to an extent, treat the condition. Some are little changes that you can make to your lifestyle whereas others are more invasive, like having surgery.
Heart Disease Treatment includes:
- Lifestyle changes: regularly exercising, stopping smoking, reducing (or cutting out completely) your alcohol intake, and changing your diet.
- Medicines
- Angioplasty: this is where balloons and stents are placed into the veins to stretch the artery, this is explained more below.
- Surgery
What is an angioplasty?
An angioplasty is a treatment method for coronary heart disease where a balloon or stent is used to widen narrowing veins. In most modern cases of CHD treatment, a stent is more commonly used. This is where a short mesh wire tube – the stent – is inserted into the artery. This stent is left in place permanently to allow for blood to flow more freely through the arteries.
Angioplasty is most commonly used after a heart attack caused by CHD as an emergency treatment.
Prevention
Like with most unsavoury things in life, prevention is better than a cure or treatment. And luckily, there are lots of little things you can start doing to help limit your likelihood of developing CHD. You can help prevent coronary heart disease by:
Eating a healthy and balanced diet
Changing up the food you eat is one of the easiest ways to save your heart. The most important thing is to lower your fat intake, whether that be reducing the oil you use whilst cooking or switching out your usual beef or pork for chicken, fish or a meat alternative. Making little switches like your loaf of white bread for brown, a slice of cake after dinner for some fruit, and other small changes can make a world of difference inside your arteries.
For more information about healthy eating, check out the NHS’ 8 tips for healthy eating.
Move more
Pretty much everyone can do with moving a little more but aiming for at least 150 minutes of exercise a week is a good start. However, if you simply don’t have the time for this there are lots of things you can do to help your heart.
Go for a walk after dinner, park your car at the back of a car park, if you can walk instead of taking the car for short distances, go swimming, or try out cycling instead of taking the car for longer journeys where walking is a little much.
It can take a while to find the exercise that works for you and makes you enjoy working out. Try getting a gym pass that allows you to try out a variety of classes and activities so you have the chance to really explore all the ways you can get active. Variety is the spice of life after all and whilst running is great for your heart it isn’t for everyone. Click here to find out more about exercising for health.
Stop smoking
Smoking can raise your cholesterol, leading to higher chances of CHD and subsequent issues like a heart attack or stroke. If you want to quit smoking the best thing you can do is reach out to an organisation like the NHS stop smoking service or Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). These services have lots of advisors that can help you every step of your journey to quit smoking. They can offer lots of advice, guidance on the best ways to stop smoking, and offer proven successful tools to quit smoking. Call 0300 123 1044 (England only) for the NHS stop smoking service.
Cut down on alcohol
The NHS recommends limiting your alcohol consumption to no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, having several days a week which are drink-free, and not drinking a lot in a short period of time.
Whilst 14 units of alcohol seems like quite a large number in reality 14 units equates to roughly six pints of average strength beer or ten glasses of lower-strength wine. The best way to keep an eye on your alcohol intake is to measure your alcohol and look at the unit measurement on label, it is normally placed on the back of the container.
If you are worried about your own or a loved ones drinking there are a lot of organisations offering help and support. You can find alcohol addiction support services near you here.
If you need further help with coronary heart disease whether that be in prevention, treatment or recovery, contact the British Heart Foundation’s helpline on 0808 802 1234 or visit its website at www.bhf.org.uk
