The National Health Service (NHS) Health Check was introduced in 2009 to help healthcare workers assess and manage the risk of heart and blood vessel-related health issues in seemingly healthy people in England. This free check-up looks at a person's overall health to see if they might be more likely to develop certain health problems.
People between 40 and 74 years old who go for an NHS Health Check should have their risk of heart and blood vessel problems calculated using a tool called QRISK. QRISK is a way to figure out how likely someone is to have a heart attack (when blood flow to part of the heart decreases or stops) or stroke (when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or reduced) in the next 10 years. Doctors and researchers created QRISK using information from many thousands of family doctor offices across the country.
This study aims to look at the group of people who have had their heart and blood vessel risk checked using QRISK in the last 10 years. It will describe how this group has changed over time. The study will provide information on how QRISK is being used in real life across England and might help shape future health policies.
The National Health Service (NHS) Health Check was introduced in 2009 to encourage healthcare professionals to measure and manage the cardiovascular risk burden in the apparently healthy population in England. NHS Health Check consists of a free check-up of an individual’s overall health, with the aim to inform the individual of whether they are at a higher risk of getting certain health problems including heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and stroke. The NHS Health Check programme in England advises that everyone aged 40–74 years, who has not already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, or chronic kidney disease should be assessed for CVD risk using the QRISK tool every 5 years.
This is a descriptive retrospective observational cohort study of patients that have been newly assessed for CVD risk using the QRISK tool in England between 2013 and 2023. The aim of the study is to characterize the patient population and to describe changes in the population profile over time. The study will examine patient demographics including age, sex, region and ethnicity, and clinical characteristics including QRISK score, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, history of lipid testing, and comorbidities. All analysis will be conducted using CPRD’S Aurum primary care data. Patients will be assessed at their first ever QRISK score; a 12-month baseline period prior to the date of QRISK assessment will be used to evaluate the patient's characteristics. The study will provide information on the real-world use of the QRISK score in England over time and offer an opportunity to inform future health policy.
QRISK score; QRISK category (high, intermediate, low); age; sex; region; ethnicity; BMI; BMI category (healthy, underweight, overweight, obese, severely obese); smoking status; history of lipid testing; frequency of lipid testing; comorbidities.
Jay Were - Chief Investigator - Parexel International Limited (UK)
Mateo Delclaux Rodriguez-Rey - Corresponding Applicant - Parexel International Limited (UK)
M. Natalia Stelmaszuk - Collaborator - Parexel International Limited (UK)
Sophie Young - Collaborator - Parexel International INC
Xinyu Yang - Collaborator - Parexel International Limited (UK)