Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the level of early detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

We continue to support the implementation of the NHS Health Check programme in England, which facilitates the prevention and early detection of cardiovascular disease. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with regions and networks to increase access to the BNP blood test and echocardiography, with early adopter sites testing clinical pathways to improve the early detection and optimum management of heart failure.

The National Health Service continues to open 44 community diagnostic centres to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and reduce patient waiting times, which could deliver over one million additional scans and tests such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray, ultrasound and echocardiograms.