Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Health - Public Health, grade: 80.00, , course: LRPM, language: English, abstract: According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of premature deaths in industrialized countries. WHO estimates that this number will reach more than twenty-three million people by the year 2030. CVD are classified as lifestyle diseases since they are attributed to unhealthy behaviours in the human life. Typically, CVD is a collective term used to refer to a group of disorders with some common health determinants that are linked to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition that describes the stiffening of the artery walls. In the United Kingdom (UK), CVD affects about seven million people and has since been identified as the leading cause of disability and death. It is also established that CVD causes one in four premature deaths in the UK, in which it accounted for about 26% of deaths recorded in England in the year 2015. CVD has also been associated with escalating financial burdens in the UK healthcare system, in which the condition consumes over GBP9 billion annually, costing the UK economy over GBP19 billion each year. The annual economic cost estimates incorporate premature deaths, informal costs, and disabilities.