JSNA – People – Cardiovascular Disease

Last Updated: October 2025

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term that describes a disease of the heart or blood vessels. This dashboard summarises the treatment and outcomes of Barnet patients with records of CVD.

What’s new?

• Hypertension: BP monitoring
• Hypertension: treated to age-specific blood pressure target in the last 12 months
• Cardiovascular disease and smoking cessation
• Atrial fibrillation and anti-coagulation
• Lipid lowering therapy
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes treatment targets
• NHS Health Checks  
• Mortality from cardiovascular disease aged under 75 years

Narrative

Hypertension monitoring and management

Up to March 2025, the percentage of patients with hypertension in Barnet PCNs who had a recorded blood pressure reading within the previous 12 months was generally lower than the London and England averages.

• PCN 1w and PCN 6 had significantly lower rates of monitoring compared to both regional and national benchmarks.
• Monitoring rates were higher among older age groups, with younger patients less likely to have a recent reading.

The proportion of hypertensive patients treated to recommended age-specific blood pressure thresholds in Barnet PCNs was also below the London and England averages.

• PCNs 1w, 2, 3, 5, and 6 showed notably lower treatment-to-target rates compared to the England average.
• Treatment success increased with age, suggesting better control among older patients.
• There was variation by ethnicity:
  • Asian and White groups generally had higher rates of treatment to target.
  • Black populations had lower than average rates, indicating potential disparities in hypertension management.

Cardiovascular disease and smoking cessation

For patients with cardiovascular disease or associated risk factors who are current smokers, the percentage offered smoking cessation support within the preceding 12 months is recorded. Across all Barnet PCNs, the proportion of patients offered support is statistically similar to the England average, indicating no significant variation in the delivery of smoking cessation interventions for this high-risk group.

Atrial fibrillation and anti-coagulation

For all Barnet PCNs, the percentages of patients with atrial fibrillation and a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 2 or more, who were treated with anti-coagulation were statistically similar to the English average.  There was variation by ethnicity, with some ethnicity groups in Barnet PCNs having lower percentages than the London and England averages.

Lipid lowering therapy

As of March 2025, the proportion of patients without cardiovascular disease (CVD) but with a QRISK score of 10% or higher who are receiving lipid-lowering therapy is lower than both the England and London averages in five out of seven Barnet Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
While these differences are not statistically significant, the rates vary across PCNs — ranging from 52.2% in PCN 6 to 57.8% in PCN 4.

For patients with recorded CVD, the percentage who received lipid lowering therapy ranged from 76.9% in PCN6 to 89.6% in PCN1w. These percentages varied by age group, ethnicity, and sex.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes treatment targets

In 2023/24, the percentage of Barnet patients with type 1 diabetes who achieved all three treatment targets, was higher than the England average percentage but lower than the other four North Central London boroughs.

The percentage of Barnet patients with type 2 diabetes who achieved all three treatment targets, was higher than the England and Islington percentages, but lower than the other North Central London boroughs.

NHS Health Checks    

Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, the cumulative proportion of the eligible population in Barnet who received an NHS Health Check was significantly higher than the England average, but significantly lower than the London average and the rates observed in two of the other four North Central London boroughs.
A general decline in uptake during the pandemic years reflects the disruption to NHS Health Check delivery caused by COVID-19. However, delivery has since rebounded, with current levels meeting or exceeding pre-pandemic performance.

Mortality from cardiovascular disease aged under 75 years

In recent years (based on data from 2021–2023), the age-standardised mortality rate from cardiovascular disease among individuals under 75 years in Barnet has been consistently lower than both the London and North Central London averages.

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