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Health and wellbeing information

NHS Health Checks and Cardiovascular risk scores

Between the ages of 40 and 74, you will be invited for a health check every 5 years. Part of this check includes a QRISK 3 score. We use the QRISK3 tool to calculate the likelihood of a stroke or heart attack (CVD) in the next 10 years. The higher the score, the greater the risk. QRISK looks at different risk factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, blood pressure, cholesterol and your medical history.

What does ‘risk’ mean?

Risk is the chance of something happening. It is important to understand that a risk of, for example, 10%, does not mean you have a 10% chance of developing CVD. It means if we took 100 people exactly like you, 10 of the group would develop CVD within 10 years. If all the patients took a statin, then around 4 would not develop CVD.

NICE have produced a decision aid to help you understand risk further.

What can I do to lower my risk?

We know statins help reduce CVD risk, but it is important to remember that this is a part of a wider approach to reduce risk factors.

What lifestyle changes can I make?

The list of risk factors includes things we can change (such as smoking status, weight and blood pressure) and things we cannot change (such as age and sex). Lifestyle changes can help:

  • Stop smoking – Healthy Lifestyles, Gloucestershire, can help – https://hlsglos.org/.
  • Eat a healthy balanced diet – low in fat, sugar and salt. Eat 5 fruit /veg a day.
  • Reduce alcohol intake – aim for less than 14 units a week for men and women.
  • Keep an eye on your weight and take steps to lose weight if needed. Aim for BMI 20-25.
  • Exercise regularly (walking is a great start).
  • Taking medication to reduce blood pressure if needed.

Further information about how you can make lifestyle changes can be found here: Live Well – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

If you make the lifestyle changes advised, please book in for a cholesterol recheck in 3 to 6 months, we can also remeasure your weight, and blood pressure to recalculate your QRISK3 score.

Statins

We have previously used a cut off score of 10% to decide when to offer a statin. NICE are updating their advice and we can now offer this to patients with scores less than 10% if you prefer this approach.

What are statins?

Statins are a group of medications that help to reduce cholesterol and can lower your risk of heart attack and stroke Statins are taken every day and are generally considered to be safe. However, as with any medication, unwanted side effects can occur.

Please see the NHS statins website for further information.

If you would like to discuss the option of taking a statin, please make an appointment to speak to a pharmacist or GP

Further information

You may find these links useful: