What is London Million Hearts and Minds?
The London Million Hearts and Minds Challenge is an ambitious, city-wide movement to save lives and reduce disability by helping Londoners avoid heart attacks and strokes.
In a ground-breaking partnership, communities, the NHS, the Mayor of London, London boroughs, businesses, charities, universities and others are working together to achieve the Challenge.
Why is this initiative needed?
Around 650,000 people in London are living with cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and blood vessels.
One in four deaths of people in London – about 13,000 deaths a year – is from heart attacks, strokes, and other kinds of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease has a devastating impact on families, communities, and London as a whole and disproportionately impacts some groups, perpetuating inequalities.
The good news is around 70% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented by a combination of lifestyle changes and detecting and optimally treating people who already have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or irregular heartbeat.
Aims and objectives
Our goal is simple but powerful: to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes across London by 2030, so every Londoner has the chance to live a longer, healthier, more active life.
By 2030, the programme aims to ensure up to 661,000 more people receive the best possible treatment for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, helping to prevent around 3,000 heart attacks and strokes.
Over the next five years, it also aims to improve the heart health of one million Londoners by:
- identifying and treating those most at risk
- encouraging and empowering others—especially in the highest-risk communities—to take action to protect their hearts.
To get there, we’re focusing on what makes the biggest difference:
- preventing problems early by finding and treating high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes, and
- helping people make healthier choices around food, smoking, weight, and activity.
This work supports the Government’s three shifts in the Ten Year Health Plan, putting prevention at the heart of London’s health system and tackling the inequalities that mean too many people still die too soon from preventable heart disease.
How will this be achieved?
The London Million Hearts and Minds Challenge uses proven, evidence-based approaches and builds on existing prevention work across the city. It will share best practice, use simple London-wide messages, and take a data-driven population-health approach that can be evaluated and scaled.
The initial focus is on high blood pressure and related risks. The programme will strengthen systems for detecting and treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and irregular heartbeat by:
- expanding access to blood pressure checks in communities, workplaces, boroughs, and NHS services
- offering clear advice and, where appropriate, on-the-spot cholesterol checks
- supporting GP practices to identify and review patients who need optimised treatment
- encouraging Londoners to use existing services such as NHS Health Checks and free blood pressure checks, and to take steps to maintain or lower their blood pressure
Delivery will combine targeted community mobilisation with an insight-led public communications campaign to reach those most at risk.
Contact us
For more information, to get involved or for a chat about London Million Hearts and Minds please send us a message:
Email: rf-tr.admin.londonmillionhearts@nhs.net