FREE NHS Health Check – Regent Pharmacy
If you are aged between 40 and 74 years old, you may be offered a free NHS Health Check.
What is an NHS Health Check?
Your free NHS Health Check will:
• Find out if you are at risk from some health problems
• Tell you how to look after your health
• Help you change things in your life to make your health better in the future.
Why should you have an NHS Health Check?
As we get older there is more chance that we will have problems with our health. Some of the most common problems are:
- In the brain a blood vessel can get blocked or bleed. This could cause a stroke. A blood vessel is a tube that carries blood round your body.
- In the heart a blood vessel can get blocked. This could cause a heart attack or angina. Angina is a pain in your chest if your heart is not getting enough oxygen.
- The kidneys can be damaged by high blood pressure or diabetes. This could cause kidney problems and give you more chance of having a heart attack.
- Being overweight or not getting enough exercise can lead to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common sort of diabetes.
- Diabetes is when you have too much sugar in your blood. Diabetes can make you feel tired and thirsty and can cause other health problems in the future.
What happens at the Health Check?
Our service is simple, quick, and painless. We will check to see how likely you are to get heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease or stroke.
- Measure your height and weight
- Make a note of your age, sex and ethnicity
- Take your blood pressure
- Do a simple blood test to check your cholesterol.
- Do a simple blood test to check your Glucose Control (HbA1c)
Who is Eligible?
The NHS Health Check looks for early signs of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia.
Everyone between the ages of 40 and 74, who has not been diagnosed with one of those conditions, will be checked.
You’ll be invited for the check once every 5 years by your GP. If you’re eligible for an NHS health check but you haven’t had one in the last 5 years You are eligible.