We are delighted to be partnering with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as they launch a consortium for a £50 million challenge which seeks to address inequalities in cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The NIHR Cardiovascular Disease Inequalities Challenge Consortium will focus on tackling inequalities in higher risk groups. It also seeks to address inequalities in CVD outcomes between women and men.
Cardiovascular disease is responsible for a quarter of all deaths in the UK, but it does not affect everyone equally. To tackle one of the UK’s biggest killers, nine UK universities have been selected to take part in the consortium, which is a national partnership bringing together leading experts from across the UK.
Together they will generate evidence and innovative solutions that deliver improved detection and monitoring of undiagnosed or poorly managed hypertension and high levels of bad cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia). This promises to save thousands of lives and reduce inequalities.
System-wide change
Nine leading universities have successfully applied to become part of the consortium and will collaborate with many other organisations around the UK including charities, social enterprise organisations, local councils, NHS Trusts and industry, to ensure system-wide change can be delivered.
The nine universities are: University of Glasgow, University of Leeds, University of Surrey, Swansea University, University of Birmingham, King's College London, University of Ulster, Imperial College London, and University of Bristol.
These members each represent much wider multi-disciplinary collaborations including patient and community groups, industry, local authorities, and third sector partners.
Members have been selected from across the UK, and the consortium’s activities will benefit populations including communities in rural areas and coastal communities, as well as in urban-deprived populations. The research projects will begin in autumn 2026.
Reducing the burden of CVD
Commenting on the consortium, our chief scientific and medical officer Professor Bryan Williams OBE, said: "We are delighted to support this major research programme.
"Research-driven innovation has already delivered huge progress in reducing the burden of CVD, but it is clear the benefits of advances in prevention and treatment have not been felt evenly across the UK.
"In some parts of the UK people are twice as likely to suffer or die from heart disease or stroke as in other areas of the country.
"This new research will focus on understanding why these disparities persist as well as developing practical solutions to strengthen detection and monitoring of major cardiovascular risk factors to tackle these unacceptable inequalities in care and outcomes.”
Tackling the root cause
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR said: “Cardiovascular disease causes 170,000 deaths annually in the UK, with a large long-term disease burden on the NHS.
"But it can be preventable with the right early intervention. This investment from the NIHR is one of the most ambitious attempts to tackle the root cause of inequalities of one the biggest killers.
“Now in our 20th year, the NIHR continues to drive life-changing research that matters. From earlier diagnosis and prevention in the community, to better treatments and improved quality of care, NIHR is funding and delivering research that tackles the health and care needs of the nation.”