What is an NHS Health Check?
An NHS Health Check is a free health check. It looks at how healthy your heart and blood vessels are.
It helps find out if you are at risk of some health problems such as:
- heart disease
- diabetes
- kidney disease
- a stroke
During your health check, you will talk about how to stay healthy and how to lower your risk of these problems.
If you are over 65, you will also learn about signs of dementia to look out for. You may also get information about local services that can help with dementia.
Who can get an NHS Health Check?
You can get an NHS Health Check if you are aged 40 to 74 and you do not already have certain health problems.
You cannot have the check if you already have:
- heart disease
- kidney disease
- diabetes
- high blood pressure
- atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat)
- TIA (a mini-stroke)
- inherited high cholesterol
- heart failure
- peripheral arterial disease (poor blood flow to your legs)
- stroke
- take statins or other medicines to lower cholesterol
- have been told you have a higher chance of heart or blood vessel problems in the next 10 years
If you already have one of these health problems, you should still get regular health checks, but these will be done by your usual care team, they will be able to provide more information about this.
How do I get an NHS Health Check?
If you are aged 40 to 74 and do not already have certain health problems, you should get an invite every 5 years from your GP.
If you think you should get a check but have not been invited, you can:
- contact your GP surgery to ask if they do NHS Health Checks
What happens at an NHS Health Check?
An NHS Health Check is usually done by a healthcare professional, such as a pharmacist, a nurse, or a healthcare assistant.
The check takes 20 to 30 minutes. It usually includes:
- measuring your height and weight
- measuring your waist
- a blood pressure test
- a cholesterol test, and sometimes a blood sugar test
You may need a blood test before or after the check.
You will also be asked some questions about your health, such as:
- if your close family members have had certain illnesses
- if you smoke, and how much
- if you drink alcohol, and how much
- how much exercise you do
Your age, sex, and ethnicity will also be recorded.
Your NHS Health Check results
You will get your results at the appointment or soon after.
You will get a risk score. This shows how likely you are to get problems like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, or kidney disease in the next 10 years.
You will also get results for your:
- BMI
- blood pressure
- cholesterol
- alcohol use
- physical activity
- diabetes risk
At the end of the check, you can discuss ways to stay healthy, such as:
- eating better
- doing more exercise
- losing weight
- stopping smoking
- drinking less alcohol
- lowering cholesterol
You may also be offered help from local services.