What an NHS Health Check is, who can get one and how to get one.
The NHS Health Check is a check of the health of your heart and blood vessels, to tell whether you are at higher risk of getting certain health conditions known collectively as cardiovascular disease or CVD such as:
- heart disease
- diabetes
- kidney disease
- stroke
The aim of the NHS Health Check is to help you lower your risk of CVD by taking action to reduce your risk by:
- improving your diet
- increasing the amount of exercise you do
- stopping smoking
- reducing alcohol intake
- losing weight
- reducing the amount of salt in your diet
Who can get an NHS Health Check
The NHS Health Check is for people aged 40 to 74 who don't have one of the following pre-existing conditions:
- heart disease
- chronic kidney disease
- diabetes
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- atrial fibrillation
- transient ischaemic attack
- inherited high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolemia)
- heart failure
- peripheral arterial disease
- stroke
- currently being prescribed medicines such as statins to lower cholesterol
- previous checks found that you have a 20% or higher risk of getting cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years
How to get an NHS Health Check
If you're aged 40 to 74 and do not have a pre-existing health condition, you should be invited to an NHS Health Check by your GP or local council every 5 years.
If you've not been invited for an NHS Health Check and think you're eligible, contact your GP to arrange an appointment.
Other NHS resources fro cardivascular health
Resources, including some quizzes which provide tailored healthy lifestyle advice according to your score:
- Healthy Choices Quiz
- Calculate your heart age
- Find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks