The UK is one of the few countries in the world with national registries that record key statistics across a broad range of cardiovascular disorders. The British Cardiovascular Society and its affiliated groups have played a central role in the development of these registries and continue to provide clinical oversight to the present day. Seven of the UK’s national registries are now integrated under the management of the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) that currently holds records on nearly 6.5 million episodes of care since 1990. This represents a substantial data resource for national audit that has driven up standards of cardiovascular care in the UK with a palpable impact on patient outcomes. The registries have also spawned an impressive programme of research providing novel insights into the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease. Linkage with other datasets and international collaborations create the environment for new outputs, new opportunities for ‘big data’ research and new ways of performing clinical trials. As the centenary of the British Cardiac Society (now British Cardiovascular Society) approaches, its role in the development of the UK’s cardiovascular audits can be counted as one of its outstanding achievements.