The health secretary has announced plans to fight the top five causes of death.
Jeremy Hunt's call to action outlines ambitions to cut avoidable deaths from cancer, heart, stroke, respiratory and liver disease.
It includes plans to tackle cardiovascular diseases that could save 30,000 lives by 2020, according to Hunt.
Hunt said: "Despite real progress in cutting deaths we remain a poor relative to our global cousins on many measures of health, something I want to change.
"For too long we have been lagging behind and I want the reformed health system to take up this challenge and turn this shocking underperformance around.
"Today's proposals for those with cardiovascular diseases will bring better care, longer and healthier lives and better patient experience - which we must all strive to deliver."
The big five conditions currently kill more than 150,000 people under 75 every year, with cardiovascular disease representing about 30% of all deaths in 2011.
The announcement comes as the Lancet publishes a major report into the UK's health performance, which shows that the UK is behind global counterparts.
The secretary of state also recently published a cardiovascular disease outcomes strategy in a bid to support the NHS and local authorities.
The strategy included; improving life-saving responses; offering tests to all family members of younger people dying suddenly; ending disjointed treatment; and promoting NHS Health Checks.
Peter Hollins, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said it welcomed the announcements.
