The publication of NHS England’s new Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Modern Service Framework (MSF) marks a significant milestone for cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic (CVRM) care. The document sets out a clear vision for how the government intends to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% over the next decade. Underpinning this aim is a continued emphasis on shifting the focus from reactive hospital-based care towards earlier identification, prevention and more integrated neighbourhood-based services to manage long-term conditions.

The framework’s focus on joined-up care across cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions reflects exactly why CVRM Professional Care was created as a forum to bring specialisms together. While the direction of travel is clear, the challenge is how clinicians, multidisciplinary teams and healthcare systems can translate these ambitions into everyday practice.

At the heart of the MSF is a recognition that cardiovascular disease cannot be managed in isolation. The framework adopts a cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic approach, recognising that conditions frequently coexist and should be managed together rather than through separate pathways. This includes greater collaboration across primary, community and secondary care through neighbourhood-based services, proactive population health management and multidisciplinary working.

Rather than introducing entirely new priorities, the MSFreinforces 12 interventions that should now be implemented consistently. These priorities span different conditions and focus on proactive detection and intervention alongside treatment targets to ensure timely, equitable, high-quality care. The 12 priorities include systematic CVRM case-finding, optimising hypertension and lipid management, improving uptake of SGLT2 inhibitors for eligible patients, delivering all diabetes care processes, increasing use of four-pillar therapy in heart failure and expanding access to cardiovascular rehabilitation.

These priorities align closely with the educational themes running throughout the CVRM Professional Care educational content programme.

As the report explains, at least 70% of cardiovascular disease is associated with risk factors that are preventable or modifiable through earlier identification and management. The MSF calls for systems to proactively identify the “missing millions” living with undiagnosed or poorly managed risk factors through a holistic "ABCDE" approach, assessing atrial fibrillation, albuminuria, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, excess weight and kidney function together rather than in isolation. This focus on earlier identification is reflected throughout the content programme, with sessions exploring hypertension and lipid management, chronic kidney disease (CKD) detection and integrated risk assessment. The sessions will provide delegates with practical strategies to implement these ambitions in routine practice to intervene earlier, prevent disease progression and reduce avoidable admissions.

The MSF also identifies several treatment priorities where consistent implementation could have the greatest impact on reducing premature cardiovascular deaths. The roadmap’s ambition to dramatically increase uptake of SGLT2 inhibitors and strengthen implementation of evidence-based heart failure care highlights the growing importance of therapies that span multiple conditions across cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. At CVRM Professional Care, delegates can continue this conversation through practically focused sessions including SGLT2 inhibitors beyond diabetes: myths, evidence and practical prescribing, Heart failure: delivering the four pillars of care across primary and secondary care, and Finerenone in practice: what clinicians need to know. These sessions directly address many of the framework's priorities around treatment optimisation and integrated management.

The biggest system-wide change outlined in the MSF is the move away from reactive hospital-based services towards proactive care delivered at neighbourhood level. The framework envisages multidisciplinary neighbourhood teams working across primary, community and secondary care to identify high-risk patients, coordinate care and support long-term management closer to home. It also places significant emphasis on reducing fragmentation by encouraging shared pathways, stronger multidisciplinary collaboration and better communication across organisations.

As neighbourhood healthcare becomes central to NHS delivery, CVRM Professional Care provides an opportunity to explore what these changes look like in practice.

There is an entire theatre dedicated to helping delegates understand how these new models can be implemented at population level, Integrated Care & Pathways. This theatre will explore how pathways are converging, share examples of multidisciplinary working and help attendees understand how to establish CVRM services.

Digital innovation is another major pillar of the framework. Looking beyond immediate priorities, the MSF sets out a vision where the NHS App becomes the central access point for CVRM care. This is supported by solutions such as wearable technologies, remote monitoring, AI-enabled risk prediction and improved data sharing through a single patient record.

Running throughout the framework is a commitment to tackling health inequalities. The impact of CVD is especially felt in deprived communities, where people are four times more likely to die from the condition than those in the 10 least deprived areas. The MSF makes clear that improving overall performance is not enough if variation between communities continues to widen. It calls for equity-focused performance measures alongside clinical targets that target underserved populations. This is examined within the content programme with a session around Addressing inequalities in CVRM: approaches for diverse populations. This emphasis on equitable, population-based care aligns closely with the ethos of the event, where discussions will focus not only on clinical excellence, but also on designing services that improve outcomes for the populations most at risk.

Importantly, the framework acknowledges that implementation will not be straightforward. It recognises the need for a convergence of workforce development, digital transformation, improved data sharing to streamline models of care and reduce unwarranted variation between services. Questions around the practicality of these aims are arising, and that is why this year's CVRM Professional Care arrives at such an important moment. Its educational programme goes beyond explaining what the MSF says and instead focuses on what it means in practice.

The CVRM Professional Care programme has been developed in conversation with key stakeholders also involved in the MSF’s creation. Delegates will have the opportunity to hear directly from one of the architects of the framework in the keynote session delivered by Dr Jessica Randall-Carrick, NHS England Medical Director for Primary Care and System Improvement and Co-Chair of the CVD Modern Service Framework.

We are also delighted to be supported by NHS England, Primary Care Cardiovascular Society and Diabetes UK who helped shape the roadmap and will continue to drive forward the framework by engaging clinicians, communities and local health systems.

It is clear while that the publication of the MSF provides the blueprint and direction of travel, CVRM Professional Care offers the opportunity to explore how this can be translated into real-world clinical practice through expert discussion, multidisciplinary learning and practical solutions that will help shape the future of integrated cardiovascular, renal and metabolic care. Registration for the event is now live, so please join us at Olympia on 20-21 October to be a part of the conversation.

Read the full CVD MSF document here: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) modern service framework (MSF): a cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic approach

View the educational content programme here: CVRM Professional Care programme