Public Health Wales sets out plan to catch heart disease risk earlier in Wales
Public Health Wales has published 12 recommendations aimed at reducing deaths and illness from cardiovascular disease across Wales.
The recommendations, published on 16 July 2026, build on the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Plan for Wales, known as the ABCD Plus approach, first published in September 2025.
ABCD Plus refers to five main risk factors, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, plus behaviours such as smoking, diet, physical inactivity and alcohol consumption.
The recommendations call for policies and planning decisions, on housing, jobs and green space, to take more account of the factors that shape people’s health, alongside a Wales-wide campaign to help people understand their heart disease risk.
They also call for easier ways to check blood pressure and weight outside a GP appointment, through libraries, pharmacies and the NHS App, and for local support for smoking, weight, activity and alcohol to be easier to reach for anyone found to be at risk.
GP surgeries should spot risk factors earlier and more consistently, the recommendations say, using existing computer systems to flag them, with extra effort focused on groups more likely to be missed, including women, people in the most deprived areas, people with a family history of heart disease, and people from South Asian, African and Afro-Caribbean communities.
Existing NHS screening programmes, such as diabetes and eye screening, should be joined up so that a risk found in one leads to a check on others, and GP and care teams should be trained to have the right conversations and use the right tools to manage heart disease risk.
The recommendations call for different NHS computer systems to share information rather than working in silos, and for a shared dashboard to be built so health boards, including Betsi Cadwaladr, can see how they are performing against other areas.
They also call for clearer national and local leadership, so someone is accountable for making the plan happen, and for more research and evaluation into what actually works.
Public Health Wales said the recommendations are intended to guide how partners across health, care, local government and the voluntary sector prioritise action to reduce cardiovascular disease and related health inequalities in Wales.
The health body said delivering the recommendations would require action at national, regional and local level, and involvement from health and social care staff, local and national government, academia and the voluntary sector.
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