The NHS is trialling blood pressure checks at dentist and optometry appointments to help find people at hidden risks of stroke or heart attacks.

The scheme, which will be live by the end of 2024, follows the success of NHS community pharmacy blood pressure checks, which have delivered more than a million checks in the last year. The scheme allows people to keep on top of their risk of cardiovascular disease without needing an appointment.

As high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, it is estimated that 4.2m people in England have the condition and are unaware.

If an individual has high blood pressure, reducing it even a small amount can help lower the risk of stroke, heart attacks, kidney disease and vascular dementia. Getting a blood pressure test is the only way to know if you have high blood pressure.

The NHS has piloted the scheme in local dental and optometry teams in London and Yorkshire, but now more sites across England will trial the service with patients who may not otherwise have interactions with NHS services.

There are 15 local integrated care boards across England taking part in the scheme. Six areas will focus on case finding at dentists, five in optometry and four will offer checks at both dental and optometry sites.

More than 60 clinical practices across England will trial the new approach, and it is expected over 100,000 blood pressure checks could be delivered over the next 12 months.

In Humber and North Yorkshire, where the approach was trialled across 24 dental practices, around one in 10 patients tested were found to have hypertension.

In London, five optical practices in Bexley and Hackney offered blood pressure checks to patients. A survey of those tested also indicated that around half wouldn’t have otherwise had their blood pressure checked.

At the European Society of Cardiology Annual Conference in London, Helen Williams, NHS national clinical director for cardiovascular disease prevention, said, “These convenient checks at dentists and optometrists will enable thousands of people to monitor their blood pressure and could potentially be life-saving.

“Many otherwise healthy people over 40 only visit their GP when they’re feeling unwell, but offering these vital checks as part of routine dentist or eye test appointments means we can identify and support more people at risk.

“High blood pressure is a significant factor in many cardiovascular diseases but as it usually has no symptoms, many people don’t know they have it, so I would urge anyone offered a check to come forward.”

Andrew Gwynne, minister for public health and prevention, said, “By checking our health and getting help early on we can prevent serious conditions such as heart disease and stroke – which is why schemes likes this, that make it easier and more convenient, are so important.

“This programme is an important step towards delivering community-focused healthcare, helping to shift the focus from treatment to prevention and helping people to live well for longer.”

This follows pharmacies across England carrying out community outreach in the summer of 2024 to encourage people to get their blood pressure checked.

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