Some of the best doctors in the country are in Newcastle today to discuss what to do about the biggest killer in the UK.

It’s responsible for a third of all deaths in this country and here in the North East it’s more of a problem than the national average, with smoking and poor diet largely to blame.

Heart Disease. It’s the umbrella term for things like heart attacks and strokes. It’s something over a hundred thousand people in the North East are affected by, like Michael Roper from Sunderland:

So the six biggest causes of heart disease…

1. High Blood pressure – but here in the North East number one is actually smoking and high blood pressure’s number two.

3. High cholesterol

4. Obesity

5. Not eating enough fruit and veg

6. Not doing enough exercise.

Today the charity Heart UK is holding it’s annual conference and patient meeting here in Newcastle.

They’re especially interested in something called FH, a type of heart disease that affects just 0.2% of us but which, according to the charity, goes undiagnosed in 80-85% of the cases.