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Uptake of the NHS Health Checks programme

NHS Health Checks, a cardiovascular risk assessment programme for all adults aged 40–74 years in England, was introduced in 2009. The programme aims to both decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and reduce socio-economic and ethnic inequalities in cardiovascular health. The programme involves systematic screening, measurement of CVD risk factors, the generation of global risk estimates, risk communication and lifestyle counselling. In a study published in the Journal of Public Health, Andrew Dalton and colleagues examine the uptake of the programme in Ealing, London. They found that uptake of the programme and subsequent prescribing of statins in high risk patients was lower than predicted in the first year of the NHS Health Checks programme. Efforts to increase the uptake of the programme, particularly amongst patients more likely to have undiagnosed CVD or uncontrolled CVD risk factors, is needed. 

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