New digital heart check rolls out on NHS app
You could get results in 9 minutes
A digital heart check, which gives results in under ten minutes, is integrating with the NHS app for the first time - allowing patients to screen for cardiovascular diseases on their smartphone.
A home kit combined with the PocDoc mobile app gives readings on cholesterol, heart age, and long-term risk of heart attacks or stroke.
The test also provides access to follow up treatment options where necessary.
Users of the service can upload their test results directly to the NHS app and see their results automatically reflected on their patient records, all within 9 minutes.
Cardiovascular (CVD) disease currently costs the health service £7.4 billion a year and the wider economy £15.8 billion, presenting a challenge the NHS is struggling to address, with early detection being a particular problem.
The service has been used by thousands of patients across the country, with initial rollouts via pharmacies, community centres, and NHS partnerships in North East and North Cumbria, West Yorkshire, Cambridge and Peterborough, and Cornwall.
Results indicate the service is proving effective at reaching ‘at risk’ groups, particularly those over the age of 40, the untested, the overweight and those groups who find it difficult to access a GP - such as shift workers, parents who struggle to find appointments that fit around childcare responsibilities, and groups where there are cultural barriers to accessing current services.
Studies show it offers the NHS the chance to save £27 billion over the next 10 years in reduced costs3 and could help save up to 1 million people annually from heart attacks and strokes.