NHS Health Checks
What is an NHS Health Check?
The NHS Health Check is a free check-up of your overall health. It can tell you whether you're at higher risk of getting certain health problems, like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease
During the check-up you'll also discuss how to reduce your risk of these conditions and dementia.
If you're over 65, you will also be told the signs and symptoms of dementia to look out for.
You should have a health check every 5 years if you're aged 40 to 74 and you have not had a stroke, or you do not have heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease.
What happens at the NHS Health Check?
An NHS Health Check takes about 20 minutes.
The healthcare assistant – will ask you some simple questions about your lifestyle and family history, measure your height and weight, and take your blood pressure and do a blood test .
Based on this, they will be able to give you an idea of your chances of getting heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes.
If you're over 65, you will also be told the signs and symptoms of dementia to look out for.
You will then receive personalised advice to lower your risk. This could include talking about:
- how to improve your diet and the amount of physical activity you do
- taking medicines to lower your blood pressure or cholesterol
- how to lose weight or stop smoking
What happens after the NHS Health Check?
A few weeks after your appointment with the healthcare assistant you will get a letter with your results from your blood test.
If your results are out of the normal range you will be asked make an appointment with the doctor or nurse to discuss them further.
More Information
If you require more information about the NHS Health Check please follow the link: NHS Health Check Web Page