Health Advice
- Weight Management
- Quit Smoking
- Acne
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- Oral Care & Hygiene
- Aneurysm, abdominal aortic
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- First aid
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- Acupuncture
- Gallbladder, inflammation
- Leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic
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- Addiction
- Addison's disease
- Adenoids and adenoidectomy
- Frozen shoulder
- Agoraphobia
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- Alcohol misuse
- Alcohol poisoning
- Alexander technique
- Rhinitis, allergic
- Indoor allergy
- Mountain sickness
- Alzheimer's disease
- Lazy eye
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- Amniocentesis
- Amputation
- Motor neurone disease
- Steroid misuse
- Iron deficiency anaemia
- Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia
- Anaesthesia
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- Brain aneurysm
- Angelman syndrome
- Anger management
- Angina
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- Arteriography
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- Dog bites
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- Ankylosing spondylitis
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- Smell sense, loss of
- Antacid medicines
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- Stress
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- Wrist, broken
- Arterial thrombosis
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- Hearing tests
- Bird flu
- B12 vitamin deficiency
- Skin rashes in babies
- Weaning
- Lumbago (low back pain)
- Septic arthritis
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Weight loss surgery
- Barium enema
- Bartholin's cyst
- Pressure ulcers
- Bedbugs
- Nocturnal enuresis
- Behçet’s disease
- Facial paralysis
- Tongue pain or soreness
- Prostate enlargement
- Beta-blockers
- Bicarbonate test
- Binge eating
- Biopsy
- Bipolar disorder
- Spider bite
- Eye, black
- Bladder cancer
- Cystitis
- Bladder stones
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- Blood donation
- Blood gases test
- Blood groups
- Coughing up blood
- Semen, bloody
- Urine, blood in the
- Vomiting blood
- Septicaemia
- Hypertension
- Low blood pressure
- Blood tests
- Blood transfusion
- Blushing
- Bromhidrosis (body odour)
- Bone cyst
- DXA scan
- Bone marrow donation
- Stem cell transplant
- Borderline personality disorder
- Bottle feeding
- Botulism
- Rectal cancer
- Polyps, bowel
- Leaky gut syndrome
- Orthodontics
- Brain abscess
- Head injury, severe
- Brain tumour, benign (non-cancerous)
- Brain tumour, malignant (cancerous)
- Brain tumours
- Breast abscess
- Breast cancer
- Male breast cancer
- Screening for breast cancer
- Nipple discharge
- Mastitis
- Breast lump
- Breastfeeding
- Shortness of breath
- Osteoporosis
- Fractured collarbone
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- Leg, broken
- Fractured nose
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- Toe, broken
- Tooth, broken or knocked out
- Smelly feet (bromodosis)
- Bronchitis
- Teeth grinding
- Thyroid eye disease
- Bulimia
- Burns and scalds
- Heart bypass
- Caesarean section
- Food poisoning
- Cancer
- Thrush
- Thrush, men
- Thrush, oral - adults
- Thrush, oral - babies
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cartilage damage
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- Rib, cervical
- Smear test
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- Chemotherapy
- Chest infection, adult
- Chest pain
- Herpes zoster virus
- Statins
- Kidney disease, chronic
- Leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic
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- Cirrhosis
- Claustrophobia
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- White coated tongue
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- Herpes simplex virus
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- Coma
- Combined contraceptive pill
- Pneumonia
- CT scan
- Concussion
- Hole in the heart
- Heart failure
- Conjunctivitis
- Constipation
- Contact dermatitis
- Corns and calluses
- Coronary heart disease
- Vegetative state
- Topical corticosteroids
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- Cough
- Counselling
- Leg cramps
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- Undescended testicles
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- Cystic fibrosis
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- Date rape drugs
- Thyroiditis
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- Fluoride
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- Depression
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- Nutrition
- Rectal examination
- Double vision
- Nummular eczema
- Shoulder dislocation
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- Lightheadedness
- Down's syndrome
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- Periods, painful
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- Ebola virus disease
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- Endoscopy
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- Epidural
- Epilepsy
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- Ocular cancer
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- Family planning
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- Wind
- Seasonal flu
- Nail patella syndrome
- Food allergy
- Foot pain
- Frostbite
- Gallstones
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- Herpes, genital
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- Tendon repair, hand
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- Nits
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- Hearing and vision tests for children
- Myocardial infarction
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- Heart transplant
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- Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
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- Periods, heavy
- Hepatitis A
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- Hernia, femoral
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- Painkillers, ibuprofen
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- Inquest
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- Natural family planning
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- Type 2 diabetes
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- Obesity
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- Paracetamol
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- Poisoning
- Reflux in babies
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- Vomiting in children and babies
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- Tension-type headaches
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- Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC or transferrin) test
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- Traction
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- Vitamins, minerals and supplements
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- Warfarin
- Weight loss (unexpected and unplanned)
- Whiplash
- Wisdom tooth removal
- X-ray
- Yellow fever
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Read moreNHS Choices - Introduction
(01/12/2014)
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term that describes a disease of the heart or blood vessels.
Blood flow to the heart, brain or body can be reduced as the result of a blood clot (thrombosis), or by a build-up of fatty deposits inside an artery that cause the artery to harden and narrow (atherosclerosis).
Types of CVD
There are four main types of CVD. They are:
- coronary heart disease
- stroke
- peripheral arterial disease
- aortic disease
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart is blocked or reduced by a build-up of fatty material (atheroma) in the coronary arteries.
The coronary arteries are the two major blood vessels that supply your heart with blood. As they narrow because of a build-up of atheroma, the blood supply to your heart will be restricted. This can cause angina (chest pain). If a coronary artery becomes completely blocked, it can cause a heart attack.
Read more about coronary heart disease.
Stroke
A stroke is a serious medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off.
Like all organs, the brain needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to function properly. This is provided by the blood, so if your blood flow is restricted or stopped, brain cells will begin to die. This can cause brain damage and possibly death.
A stroke is therefore a medical emergency and prompt treatment is essential. The sooner a person who has had a stroke receives treatment, the less damage is likely to occur.
The main symptoms of stroke can be remembered with the word FAST, which stands for:
- Face – the face may have drooped on one side, the person may be unable to smile, or their mouth or eye may have drooped
- Arms – the person may be unable to lift their arm and keep it raised because of weakness or numbness
- Speech – the person's speech may be slurred or garbled, or they may not be able to talk at all
- Time – it's time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms
Read more about stroke and recognising the signs of stroke.
Peripheral arterial disease
Peripheral arterial disease, also known as peripheral vascular disease, occurs when there's a blockage in the arteries to your limbs (usually your legs).
The most common symptom of peripheral arterial disease is pain in your legs when walking. This is usually in one or both of your thighs, hips or calves.
The pain can feel like cramp, a dull pain or a sensation of heaviness in your leg muscles. It usually comes and goes, and gets worse during exercise that uses your legs, such as walking or climbing stairs.
Read more about peripheral arterial disease.
Aortic disease
The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. It carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body.
The most common type of aortic disease is an aortic aneurysm, where the wall of the aorta becomes weakened and bulges outwards. You'll usually experience pain in your chest, back or abdomen (tummy).
Risk factors for CVD
There are a number of risk factors for CVD, including:
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- smoking
- high blood cholesterol
- diabetes
- lack of exercise
- being overweight or obese
- a family history of heart disease
- ethnic background
The amount of alcohol you drink and how you deal with stress are also thought to be linked to the risk of developing CVD.
Read more about these risk factors for CVD.
Preventing CVD
Most deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are premature and could easily be prevented by making lifestyle changes, such as eating healthily, exercising regularly and stopping smoking.
Addressing one risk factor, such as giving up smoking, will bring important health benefits, but to significantly reduce your risk of developing CVD you need to look at your lifestyle as a whole.
In particular, you need to consider:
- your diet
- your weight
- how much alcohol you drink
- how much exercise you do
- whether you need to stop smoking
Read more about preventing cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Children
Evidence shows that eating and drinking habits established during childhood can continue for many years into adulthood.
Bad eating habits during childhood may not pose an immediate health risk, but they could lead to serious health problems in adulthood.
Four important things to consider are the amount of:
- fat in your child's diet
- salt in your child's diet
- sugar in your child's diet
- exercise your child does
Read more about preventing cardiovascular disease during childhood.