Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of premature mortality. However, much of it is preventable through better identification and management of modifiable risk factors.

This module considers the importance of cholesterol as a risk factor for CVD and explores how community pharmacy teams can play an integral role in timely patient identification and management.

It is estimated that more than 7.6 million people in the UK live with cardiovascular disease, which contributes substantially to emergency admissions and health and social care costs.

However, much of this burden is preventable, and up to 80 per cent of premature CVD deaths are associated with modifiable risk factors.

Preventing CVD through pharmacy presents numerous opportunities, beginning in childhood and continuing throughout adult life.

These include promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting services aimed at smoking cessation, improving diet, reducing obesity, reducing harmful alcohol consumption, and increasing participation in regular physical activity.

The health and wellbeing services already provided by community pharmacy can be expanded to support this prevention agenda.

In addition to promoting healthy lifestyles, proactive prevention of CVD involves identifying and managing high-risk conditions such as hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes.

Community pharmacy hypertension case-finding services were introduced several years ago and are regarded as a success, with widespread uptake.

Between April 2024 and February 2025, almost 200,000 blood pressure checks were delivered by community pharmacies in England, exceeding the target for that period by 181 per cent and demonstrating how investment in community pharmacy services can support the CVD prevention agenda.