Free NHS Health Check in Gillingham

We measure your height, weight and waist, check your blood pressure and pulse, and take a quick finger-prick blood sample to test your cholesterol. You don't normally need to fast beforehand.

We'll also ask about your family history, smoking, alcohol and physical activity, and assess your risk of type 2 diabetes. If you're aged 65 to 74, we'll talk about the signs of dementia too, so you know what to look out for.

Your answers and measurements go into a recognised risk calculation. It estimates your chance of developing a heart or circulation problem, such as a heart attack or stroke, over the next 10 years.

You leave knowing your numbers, including cholesterol, blood pressure, BMI and your risk score, not just a vague 'you're fine'. A raised score isn't a diagnosis. It's an early warning, and the conditions the check looks for can often be prevented or delayed when they're caught at this stage.

If your score is raised, we'll explain what's driving it and what would bring it down, share your results with your GP, and point you to free support, including our stop smoking service and blood pressure monitoring.

You can have an NHS Health Check if you're aged 40 to 74 and haven't had one in the last five years. It isn't offered if you've already been diagnosed with heart disease, stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease or inherited high cholesterol.

It also isn't offered if you already take a statin to lower your cholesterol, or if a previous check found a 20% or higher risk of cardiovascular disease over 10 years. Those conditions and risks are monitored separately by your GP.

Heart and circulation risk climbs steadily from your forties, but the conditions it leads to rarely cause symptoms early on. Checking between 40 and 74 catches that risk while there's still plenty of time to act.

The NHS Health Check is for people who feel well. If you have symptoms that worry you, contact your GP practice or NHS 111 rather than waiting for a check. Call 999 straight away for chest pain that doesn't go away, or signs of a stroke such as a face that has dropped on one side, weakness in one arm or slurred speech.