This World Heart Day, we are celebrating the importance of looking beyond the heart – and recognising that better kidney care can be an important part of better cardiovascular health.

In this blog, Dr Melanie Morris, a GP in Leicestershire tells us about the LUCID programme which is bringing an integrated approach to chronic kidney disease (CKD) care to health systems across England:

To date, well over 2,500 people have been referred to and discussed through the LUCID programme in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, giving us a valuable insight into the wider health needs of people living with CKD. Among those reviewed through LUCID, around 85% have hypertension, 50% have diabetes and 20% have heart failure.

At first glance, kidney disease and heart disease might seem like separate problems, but in reality, we know that they are closely connected.

People living with CKD are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. At the same time, conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes are important risk factors for both kidney and cardiovascular disease.

So, when we talk about improving heart health, we also need to think about kidney health.

This is one reason there is growing focus on cardiovascular–kidney–metabolic (CVKM) health: recognising that cardiovascular disease, CKD, diabetes, hypertension and other metabolic conditions are interconnected, with shared risk factors and treatments that can influence more than one condition.

But a CVKM approach does not mean that every patient needs a new specialist service.

It means recognising the connections between conditions and making sure people receive the right care, at the right time and in the right setting.

This is where integrated care comes in.

Integrated care is about how we organise and deliver care. It can bridge the gap between primary and secondary care, bringing specialist expertise, information and clinical decision-making closer to patients and the healthcare professionals who care for them.

This is at the heart of LUCID – Connecting Kidney Care

LUCID was developed to improve the identification, risk assessment and management of people with CKD, supporting primary care teams through specialist advice and virtual multidisciplinary team (MDT) working.

The aim is simple: to help clinicians identify people at risk earlier, support appropriate management closer to home and recognise those who need more intensive or specialist input.

Importantly, LUCID has CKD at its core

A person with CKD may also have hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. By helping clinicians understand their kidney risk, optimise medicines and access specialist advice, LUCID can support a more joined-up view of that person's cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic health.

Integrated care is about how we organise services and expertise.

CVKM care is about the clinical risks and conditions we manage together.

The two approaches therefore overlap, but they are not the same.

Why this matters now

The shift towards earlier identification, prevention and care closer to home is increasingly reflected in national policy. The NHS England and Department of Health and Social Care's 2026 Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework adopts a cardiovascular–kidney–metabolic approach, recognising the connections between these areas and the importance of earlier prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

For people living with CKD, this joined-up approach matters.

It can help move the conversation beyond managing an individual test result or diagnosis towards understanding a person's overall risk – and considering what can be done to reduce that risk.

It also recognises that not everyone needs the same level of care.

Much lower-risk, less complex CKD and CVKM care can be delivered effectively within primary care as part of existing long-term condition management. For people with greater complexity or risk, however, timely access to specialist expertise can make a real difference.

LUCID is designed around this principle: the right care, in the right setting, supported by the right team.

Because sometimes better heart health starts somewhere unexpected.

It can start with identifying CKD earlier.

It can start with understanding a person's wider cardiovascular risk.

It can start with a conversation between primary and secondary care.

And it can start by recognising that the heart and kidneys are not separate systems to be managed in isolation – they are part of the same patient.

This World Heart Day, we’re proud to share how we are looking at prevention of cardiovascular disease and acting earlier to improve patient outcomes.