THE NHS will offer free, seven-minute cholesterol tests to people in England via their local pharmacy, it announced this week.
The new scheme, which will be available to people aged between 40 and 84 years who are not pregnant and have not had a blood test within the last year, is part of NHS plans to slash heart disease and stroke deaths by a quarter in the next decade.
Eligible patients will now be able to walk into participating pharmacies and receive a finger-prick blood test using a lancet which will be analysed immediately. This will be coupled with a blood-pressure test.
Based on the results, a pharmacist prescriber will then be able to assess whether a person may benefit from lifestyle advice or treatment, such as statins, to prevent the onset of further health issues.
Cardiovascular disease accounts for over a quarter of all deaths in the UK, or around 170,000 deaths each year, according to the British Heart Foundation.1
Coronary heart disease, for which high cholesterol is a major contributing factor, is the most common type of heart disease and the most common cause of heart attack. Globally, it is the single biggest killer of both and men and women. In the UK, it is also the single biggest premature killer (before the age of 75).1
Raised cholesterol is also a risk factor for stroke, which kills roughly 34,000 to 38,000 people in the UK each year and is the fourth single leading cause of death nationally.2
The new finger-prick tests are part of a government plan announced earlier this year by Starmer’s former cabinet to “save thousands of lives” from cardiovascular and circulatory disease through public education and risk reduction.3
Rollout of the blood tests follow a successful pilot scheme in North London by Barts Health NHS which found nearly one in five participating patients (19%) were at high risk of heart attack or stroke within the next decade.
These people were offered advice or referred for treatment, and out of a total 2,493 people initially tested, 88 began taking statins as a result.
Details of the world-first scheme, which officials hope will mirror the success of the pilot, were announced at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in Munch this week.
David Webb, the chief pharmaceutical officer for England, said pharmacies could be the key to catching patients before the develop serious illness.
He said: “By making it easier for people to get a quick and convenient cholesterol health check on their local high street, we can spot ticking timebombs earlier, helping people take action, and prevent heart attacks and strokes before they happen.
“This is the latest in a series of initiatives involving pharmacies in delivering care previously only offered in GP surgeries as part of the 10-year health plan to bring care closer to where people live.”
Jo Whitmore, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation told EMJ: “We welcome plans to make cholesterol testing more convenient and accessible through local pharmacies. Bringing checks closer to people’s communities could help more people understand their risk of heart attack and stroke.
“To have the greatest impact, every test result must lead to appropriate follow-up care, support or treatment where needed. It will also be important to ensure results are accurate and recorded in patients’ health record.”
She continued: “The NHS Health Check already offers eligible adults a free assessment of their cardiovascular risk, including a cholesterol test, and we continue to encourage people to take up that offer when invited. However, these new pharmacy tests could complement these existing Checks and help more people understand and manage their risk.”
Around 100 NHS pharmacies across England will begin offering blood-tests from this autumn in first phase of the national rollout.
You can follow EMJ coverage of the ESC Congress here.
References
1 British Heart Foundation. Facts and figures. 2025. https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/contact-the-press-office/facts-and-figures
2 Stroke Association. Stroke statistics. 2022. https://www.stroke.org.uk/stroke/statistics
3 Department of Health and Social Care. New heart disease and strokes plan to save thousands of lives. 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-heart-disease-and-strokes-plan-to-saves-thousands-of-lives
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