The NHS will soon offer free seven-minute cholesterol checks at pharmacies across England as part of a national strategy to reduce deaths from cardiovascular diseases.
The programme will allow people aged 40 to 84 to walk into participating pharmacies for a quick cholesterol screening, provided they are not pregnant and have not had a blood test in the previous 12 months.
According to The Guardian, pharmacy staff will use a small lancet to take a blood sample from the fingertip and analyse it on the spot.
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Patients will also receive a free blood pressure check during the same visit, while the pharmacy will send them a digital report of their results by email.
Qualified pharmacy prescribers will assess the results and provide personalised advice on lifestyle changes. Where necessary, they will also prescribe preventive medicines, including statins, to patients at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
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Health officials unveiled the programme at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in Munich, describing it as a major expansion of high-street healthcare.
They said moving routine cardiovascular checks from GP surgeries to community pharmacies would make preventive care more accessible while helping to reduce pressure on primary care services.
The national rollout follows a pilot programme led by Barts Health NHS Trust, UCLPartners and Heart UK in north London. Nearly 2,500 people took part in the trial, with about 19 per cent found to have an elevated 10-year risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
The pilot also helped identify high-risk patients and put dozens of them on statins and personalised lifestyle plans.
The NHS will begin the initial rollout this autumn at about 100 designated pharmacies.
Health leaders expect the programme to improve early detection and help reduce cardiovascular health inequalities, particularly in communities disproportionately affected by heart disease and stroke.
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The initiative forms part of the government’s wider plan to prevent cardiovascular disease by identifying and treating risk factors before they develop into serious health conditions.
