Building Workforce Resilience Against Heart-Related Risks

September 28, 2026 12 mins

Building Workforce Resilience Against Heart-Related Risks

By understanding cardiovascular risk in working populations and applying data-driven insight, organisations can help shape healthier, more resilient workforces.

Key Takeaways

Cardiovascular disease is not just a clinical concern; it accounts for a significant proportion of deaths in service as well as critical illness and income protection claims.
Lifestyle behaviours and indicators such as movement, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking patterns in today’s workforce shape tomorrow’s claims picture.
Data-driven insight enables targeted interventions that can reduce future claims and support longer, healthier working lives.

Why Cardiovascular Disease is a Growing Workforce Risk in the UK
The Impact of Lifestyle on Cardiovascular Risk
What the Data Tells us
How Employers can Support Healthier Workforces
How Aon can Help
Our Collaboration with British Heart Foundation

Why Cardiovascular Disease is a Growing Workforce Risk in the UK

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an umbrella term for a range of conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. These can include diseases which are inherited or that a person is born with, as well as those that develop later, such as coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and vascular dementia. An estimated eight million people in the UK currently live with CVD, and this number is expected to increase by up to a further million by 2030.¹

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General health trends across the UK paint a similar picture. In early 2026, the Office for National Statistics reported that healthy life expectancy – the number of years people are expected to remain in “good” general health – decreased by 1.8 years for males and 2.5 years for females when comparing the period of 2022-24 to 2019-21.³ Meanwhile, progress in reducing the premature mortality rate from circulatory diseases has stalled in the UK. This figure fell from 159 per 100,000 population in 2001 to 73 per 100,000 population in 2019, but has gone up [again] since.⁴

The impact of cardiovascular disease extends beyond the human cost as a major cause of disability and premature death. The substantial demand for hospital care and long-term treatment places sustained pressure on NHS services, while the acute impact among working-age adults, where heart and circulatory conditions contribute to avoidable mortality, long-term sickness and reduced earnings, is felt not only by individuals, but by their families, employers and the wider economy. Because many of the risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease are modifiable, employers have a real opportunity to change this trajectory by using aggregated data to target prevention and support where it will have the greatest impact.

26%

of deaths in the UK are caused by cardiovascular disease.²

The Impact of Lifestyle on Cardiovascular Risk

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development states that 74% of the burden of cardiovascular disease can be attributed to “modifiable risk factors”.⁵ These factors include metabolic risks such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidaemia, behavioural factors such as tobacco use, harmful alcohol consumption, poor diet, physical inactivity, inadequate sleep, and rising vaping and cannabis use among younger people, alongside environmental stressors such as air pollution and extreme temperatures.

A study of over 280,000 UK adults with CVD, and 170,000 with CVD risk, highlights the clustering effect of these lifestyle behaviours on cardiovascular disease. Adults with three risk behaviours (physically inactive, poor fruit and vegetable intake, and high alcohol intake) had 25.18 higher odds of having CVD than those with two risk behaviours (physically inactive, and poor fruit and vegetable intake).⁶

What the Data Tells us

Across Aon’s client base, claims and mortality data suggest that around one in five deaths in service claims are related to cardiovascular disease.

The picture is similar in other protection benefits. Around 15% of critical illness claims are linked to cardiovascular disease through heart attacks, strokes or major cardiac surgery, often resulting in prolonged absence, adjusted roles or hours, and long-term health implications. Around 12% of income protection claims are also heart-related, reflecting employees who are unable to work for extended periods due to cardiovascular disease. These are the lagging indicators of risk – the consequences that emerge when underlying factors have not been identified and managed early enough.

Health screening and assessment data provide the corresponding view of “everyday” risk. Aggregated Nuffield Health assessment outcomes for Aon and Nuffield clients show a clear pattern across age cohorts: the proportion of people receiving “red” scores – indicating cause for concern – rises steadily for key cardiovascular risk markers. In younger groups, a minority receive red scores for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure and cholesterol; by mid-life and beyond, a much larger share are in the red, particularly for BMI and waist circumference, with blood pressure and cholesterol also worsening with age.

The 2025 aggregated screening data underline this trend. Among those with red scores:

Obesity rates rose steadily with age, reaching 70% of those in the 60–69 cohort.
Elevated blood pressure increased from 8% of 20–29 year olds to 61% of those aged 70+.
Regular alcohol consumption (four days a week or more) rose from 3% of 20–29 year olds to 27% of those aged 60–69.

Behavioural data broadly align with this clinical profile, but with some interesting exceptions. Sedentary behaviour was more prevalent in the younger working population, present in 96% of 20–29 year olds with a red score, compared with 85% of those aged 60–69. Poor mental health was recorded in 42% of 20–29 year olds, declining steadily across age cohorts to 17% in the 60–69 age group.

Taken together, this creates a clear narrative for employers: the everyday risk patterns visible in today’s screening data are directly connected to tomorrow’s claims and deaths.

How Employers can Support Healthier Workforces

This responsibility also represents a major opportunity: the everyday experience of work can either reinforce or undermine healthy behaviours. Organisations that use data to understand workforce health and behaviours are better placed to focus their efforts where they will have the greatest impact. Acting now to improve workforce health is not only the right thing to do; it has a positive business impact through stabilising benefits costs and supporting higher productivity and performance over time.

Using Data to Understand Workforce Health and Behaviours

Many organisations already hold rich information from health screenings and assessments, including measures such as BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, activity levels and smoking status. When these are aggregated and viewed by age, role, location and working pattern, clear patterns emerge: where “red” scores are concentrated, how risk builds across age cohorts, and which job types are most exposed.

Health data becomes more powerful when combined with other workforce information. Linking assessment results to absence, claims and job type data helps identify groups where early risk markers are already translating into time off work or increased healthcare use. Supplementing this with employee surveys, wellbeing platform analytics and feedback from networks or focus groups provides insight into the cultural and practical barriers to healthy behaviour. The aim is to build an evidence based picture of population level trends and priority groups so support can be targeted rather than one size fits all.
Embedding Health into Benefits, Culture and Job Design

Once the risk landscape is understood, health can be woven into everyday structures rather than delivered as isolated campaigns. Benefits and wellbeing programmes can be aligned so that assessments, coaching, clinical pathways and protection benefits all reinforce prevention and early support. Job design and working patterns also matter: reviewing hours, recovery time, and the physical or digital environment can make healthier choices more realistic and accessible.
Using Data to Measure Progress and Improve Over Time

The same data that informs initial priorities should be used to track change. Clear baselines for key health markers, engagement levels and workforce outcomes allow organisations to see whether they are moving in the right direction. Regular review of results, alongside employee feedback, supports decisions about which initiatives to scale, adapt or retire. Communicating back to employees how insights are being used, and demonstrating that data is there to support, helps build trust and encourages continued participation in health initiatives.

94%

of employers agree that they have a responsibility for influencing employee health and wellbeing.⁷

By creating environments that encourage movement, and providing access to preventative health support, employers can play a vital role in improving employee wellbeing, workforce resilience and long-term business outcomes.

Louise Wright

Physiology National Lead, Nuffield Health

How Aon can Help

Employers are increasingly looking for practical ways to reduce claims volatility, improve productivity and support longer, sustainable working lives. Aon’s capabilities are designed to respond directly to these pain points – turning fragmented health and benefits data into actionable insight, aligning benefits and wellbeing investments to measurable outcomes, and helping organisations build environments where healthier behaviours are easier and long term conditions are better managed.

Turning Fragmented Health Data into Insight

Addressing cardiovascular risk in working populations starts with data. Aon’s leading analytics – underpinned by 13,000 human capital specialists across more than 110 countries and our $1 billion investment in our analytical tools – help organisations turn data into a coherent, forward looking picture of workforce health. By bringing together claims, benefits, health screening and wider people data, we help organisations pinpoint where risks and related behaviours are concentrated, how they evolve over time, and which parts of the workforce will benefit most from targeted support. This means HR and business leaders are making decisions based on evidence, not assumptions.
Reducing Claims Volatility with Health Risk Analyser

Aon’s Health Risk Analyser uses AI-driven insights and deep-dive analytics to give employers a clear, forward-looking view of cardiovascular and related claims risk in their workforce. By analysing historical claims and demographics, it highlights which groups are most likely to generate high cost claims, enabling earlier intervention, smarter budgeting and more targeted use of benefits spend. With ongoing monitoring via direct data feeds, employers can continuously track emerging cardiovascular risk, work with vendors to close gaps in care and outreach, and direct employees towards appropriate support. The result is better control of healthcare costs and, crucially, a healthier, more supported and productive workforce.
Designing Benefits to Support Sustainable Working Lives

Our objective-led benefits broking approach uses strategic insights, extensive data and market knowledge to recommend providers and solutions that align with each organisation’s people and wellbeing strategy. By optimising benefit design – from medical and protection benefits to health screening and condition management programmes – we help organisations balance affordability and sustainability with meaningful support for cardiovascular and wider health risks. Our Broking Centre of Excellence ensures access to leading terms and a strong understanding of insurer capabilities, so clients can navigate existing and future people health risks while driving optimum value from their spend.
Embedding Wellbeing as a Driver of Productivity and Resilience

We also support employers in building a broader wellbeing strategy that underpins cardiovascular health and resilience. Aon’s wellbeing advisory capabilities combine data-led consulting, subject matter expertise and a curated ecosystem of market leading wellbeing providers. Using tools such as our Wellbeing Maturity Index and advanced qualitative analytics, we work with organisations to identify priority risks, select targeted interventions, and embed wellbeing into culture, leadership and job design. In doing so, we help clients treat wellbeing as a strategic investment – using benefits, analytics and practical workplace support to create environments where healthier behaviours are easier, long-term conditions are better managed, and employees are more engaged, resilient and able to thrive.

If you’re unsure what your workforce’s cardiovascular risk profile looks like, talk to one of our health experts.

Wellbeing is a strategic investment, not just a collection of soft initiatives. When organisations, and specifically business leaders prioritise employee wellbeing, they foster resilience, reduce risk, and promote measurable returns in aspects such as productivity, innovation and retention – key levers for enabling sustainable performance.

Simon Cresswell

Principal Wellbeing Consultant

Our Collaboration with British Heart Foundation

Our collaboration with British Heart Foundation aims to support organisations in strengthening aspects of workforce wellbeing and resilience – including enabling access to practical support. We've started close to home, with the goal of training 75% of our UK workforce on how to perform CPR through RevivR: BHF's free, digital tool.

By connecting our people to BHF's resources, we are working towards our teams feeling more informed and prepared to act in critical moments when it matters the most.

Discover more about our collaboration with British Heart Foundation on our partnership page.

Aon’s Thought Leaders

Simon Cresswell

Principal Wellbeing Consultant
Mark Witte

UK Head of Propositions

¹ British Heart Foundation, UK Cardiovascular Disease Factsheet, Jan 2026
² British Heart Foundation, UK Cardiovascular Disease Factsheet, Jan 2026
³ Office for National Statistics, “Healthy life expectancy, UK: between 2011 to 2013 and 2022 to 2024
⁴ British Heart Foundation, 2026 Compendium
⁵ “The State of Cardiovascular Health in the European Union”, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
⁶ “Effects of lifestyle risk behaviour clustering on cardiovascular disease among UK adults: latent class analysis with distal outcomes”, UK Biobank.
⁷ The UK Benefits and Trends Survey, 2025, Aon.

This document is not intended to address any specific situation or to provide legal, regulatory, financial, or other advice. While care has been taken in the production of this document, Aon does not warrant, represent or guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, completeness or fitness for any purpose of the document or any part of it and can accept no liability for any loss incurred in any way by any person who may rely on it. Any recipient shall be responsible for the use to which it puts this document. This document has been compiled using information available to us up to its date of publication and is subject to any qualifications made in the document. M26010

The contents herein may not be reproduced, reused, reprinted or redistributed without the expressed written consent of Aon, unless otherwise authorized by Aon. To use information contained herein, please write to our team.

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