Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death and disability in the Western world. Nearly half of us will die from the disease, usually by suffering a stroke or heart attack and probably without showing any symptoms beforehand.

CORDA is a charity that was established to find a way of detecting cardiovascular disease at an early stage by the use of fast, painless and non-invasive means, and then to reverse the disease.

CORDA set out to help people answer the following important questions:

• Have I got the disease?
• Is it going to kill me?
• Can something be done about it?
• Is it possible to monitor the effectiveness of treatment?

We share CORDA's aims and values, and so, in May 2014, the charity was integrated into Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity.