§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will identify the second order priorities for the next round of the "The Health of the Nation" targets; and what consideration she has given to the inclusion of targets specifically relating to the need to reduce the incidence of heart failure as a discrete part of the coronary heart disease targets.
§ Mr. SackvilleThere are no current plans for setting any new "The Health of the Nation" targets or key areas. The focus for the present is on consolidating work in the five existing key areas.
Almost all cases of heart failure are attributable either to coronary heart disease or hypertension, both of which have specific "The Health of the Nation" targets within the CHD/stroke key area. The prevention, early diagnosis and effective treatment of heart failure are subsumed within these existing targets.