UK Biobank: opportunities for cardiovascular research

Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 45% of all deaths in European countries in 20161 and almost a third of deaths worldwide in 2013.2 A similar pattern is observed in the UK where cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 27% of deaths in 2014, with coronary heart disease resulting in the largest number of deaths attributable to a single cause (n = ∼69 000) whilst stroke is the third biggest...