The implementation of the cardiovascular disease prevention dashboard markedly enhanced stroke prevention strategies, offering healthcare providers critical data on key risk factors and driving substantial improvements in the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and high cholesterol.

Background

In 2019, the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) embarked on a significant health initiative with the release of its five-year stroke prevention strategy. This strategy highlighted a critical need: the effective monitoring of stroke prevention efforts, particularly focusing on three key risk factors – atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and raised cholesterol.

The primary goal was to develop a tool to enable health commissioners and providers to track and manage these risk factors effectively. This initiative led to the creation of the cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention dashboard.

Action

Our Business Intelligence team played a pivotal role in realising this vision. They developed a comprehensive, visual dashboard, hosted on Aristotle Xi, a robust platform known for its data-handling capabilities.

The dashboard offers a unique, multi-dimensional view, enabling analysis from various healthcare perspectives, including integrated care systems, integrated care boards, primary care networks, and GP practices.

Regular updates are managed and refreshed quarterly by our Business Intelligence team and the report ensures up-to-date data is always at hand.

Target-driven indicators have been developed in collaboration with our data quality teams, and the dashboard provides crucial indicators. It also sets aspirational targets, focusing on priority indicators.

Impact

The dashboard has been instrumental in providing concrete evidence linking stroke risk to the management of atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels. This tool empowers users to identify and address gaps in the detection and management of these risk factors.

The pandemic posed significant obstacles, notably in the routine management of hypertension. The dashboard has been pivotal in responding to these challenges, guiding practices in managing hypertension effectively and aligning with NHS England’s monitoring blood pressure at home programme.

Moreover, the dashboard aids practices in adopting proactive measures in managing patients, especially those with a cardiovascular disease risk greater than 20%. It serves as a guide in achieving the national stroke prevention targets.

Feedback

“We now have clear evidence that in addition to many lifestyle factors, risk of stroke is associated with the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation, uncontrolled high blood pressure and the identification and treatment of high cholesterol. This dashboard allows users to identify the size of detection and management gaps for each of these risk factors.

COVID has led to many patients not receiving their annual hypertension checks and NHSE has responded to the risk of this, increasing the incidence of heart attacks and strokes by launching their blood pressure at home programme.  Practices are encouraged to use this dashboard to inform them of their position in relation to achieving the national stroke prevention targets for patients on their hypertension registers and adopt a proactive approach to their management where appropriate.

Finally, the dashboard will inform practices on their position in relation to starting prescribing for patients with a cardiovascular disease risk of greater than 20%.” Jean Hayhurst | Cardiovascular Specialist Nurse