Dear Patient,
Your recent cholesterol result has been used to calculate a cardiovascular risk score called QRISK. You can see your result via the NHS App. QRISK estimates your risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10-years. The score also considers information about factors such as your family history, lifestyle (smoking, alcohol and exercise), blood pressure, and whether you have other conditions such as diabetes.
For anybody with a risk score over 10%, regardless of the actual cholesterol value, reducing cholesterol is recommended. This can be helped through changes to lifestyle and here is a link to an excellent website: https://www.heartuk.org.uk/
If you would like to talk to us about cholesterol and lifestyle, please contact us and an appointment with a member of the practice team will be offered.
If you make lifestyle changes and would like a repeat cholesterol test after 6 months, this can also be arranged.
For a QRISK score over 10% we also recommend starting cholesterol-lowering medication called statins. The same link above has further information, and again we are happy to discuss.
It can sometimes be hard to understand what a QRISK score means to you. The NHS website has a calculator called “heart age” and using your own data from the NHS app to calculate your heart age, may better help you to make a decision: https://www.nhs.uk/health-assessment-tools/calculate-your-heart-age
If you are somebody who likes more detailed information, this link is also useful: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng238/resources/patient-decision-aid-on-should-i-take-a-statin-pdf-243780159
You will receive a follow-up text message within the next week asking if you are happy to start statins or offering an appointment to discuss further.
You can also use this link to tell us that, having considered the information, you do not wish to take statins. If you have a cholesterol test in the future, updated advice will be given, based on your results.