The modern service framework for cardiovascular disease has placed an emphasis on digital apps and AI-driven analysis in the future of cardiovascular disease management, with an ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within a decade.
“This is not another strategy that sits on the shelf gathering dust, this is an action plan,” says Sharon Hodgson, MP and parliamentary under-secretary of state for public health and prevention. “There will be a relentless focus on delivery so that we find the missing millions who don’t yet know they are at risk, get to those most likely to suffer heart attacks and strokes early, and provide world-class emergency care and rehabilitation when the worst happens.”
Immediate system focuses for the next three years include identifying those with undiagnosed or unmanaged CVKM risk factors, optimising treatment and supporting adherence, ensuring timely and high quality acute care for stroke, and expanding access to rehabilitation with the use of hybrid and digital models to increase uptake and reduce inequalities.
Remote monitoring using wearables is noted to enable tracking of CVKM risk and CVD, becoming “the norm” from 2028, and integrating data with apps to help people better understand their condition, shift to healthier behaviours, adhere to medicines, communicate with care teams, and report on symptoms and outcomes.
The NHS App will be the main point of access for individuals to monitor their risk, receive advice, and engage with digital therapeutic apps, the DHSC and NHSE state, with an AI health coach said to provide personalised support to promote healthy choices.
HealthStore will reportedly help improve access to NHS approved digital therapeutic apps for conditions including heart failure, diabetes, and hypertension, promoting self-management. Healthcare professionals will be able to prescribe certain apps to patients, who will then be invited to sign up through the NHS App.
Also highlighted is the need for better use of biodata generated from wearables or home sampling, and its accessibility for patients to help increase understanding and awareness around their condition. Combining this with AI-supported insights is hoped to offer a clearer picture of risk, treatment response, and deterioration, underpinning a shift toward “dynamic risk stratification” and unlocking the potential for earlier intervention.
Referring to a “spectrum of readiness” across different technologies involved in a digital-first model of care, NHSE and DHSC outline a series of priority areas to focus on, including improving engagement through apps, wearables, and biosensors, the use of AI tools to identify and manage people at risk, digitally enabled support for medicines adherence and behavioural changes, and point of care testing or self-sample home testing kits.
Wider trend: Health apps
The NHS Transformation Directorate has shared details of the initial pilot of an AI triage tool integrated in the NHS App. The tool, trialled at Wealden Ridge Medical Partnership in Sussex, is said to have reduced phone queue volumes by 29 percent, according to the directorate. It will be rolled out over the next 12 months to more than 200,000 patients in London, before being made available to all NHS App users nationwide by April 2028. It poses questions to patients on their health issues via the app, adapting follow-up questions or asking for further information and photos depending on the response.
Macmillan Cancer Support has launched a library of digital health tools designed for people living with cancer, each independently assessed by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) for clinical safety, usability, privacy, and security. Tools are organised around types of cancer and care pathway stages, ORCHA shares, from diagnosis to treatment and ongoing support. Some are specific to cancer, while others offer support with sleep, managing pain, and living with a long-term health condition.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple shared upcoming product features and functionality including “next generation” Apple Intelligence, and menopause cycle tracking for Health app users. A series of 2027 releases are set to make Apple products more responsive and reliable, the company notes, offering enhancements to the ways users can communicate, share memories, and track their health. Autumn 2026 will also see the introduction of support for perimenopause and menopause, with cycle tracking functionality and notifications relating to cycle deviations, Apple states.
