The NHS is trialling blood pressure checks at dentist and optometry appointments to help find people at hidden risks of stroke or heart attacks.

The scheme which will be up and running in the coming months follows the introduction of NHS community pharmacy blood pressure checks, which has delivered more than a million checks in the last year and allows people to keep on top of their risk of cardiovascular disease without the need for an appointment.

As high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, it is estimated that 4.2 million people in England have the condition without knowing it.

Helen Williams, NHS national clinical director for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention said: “These convenient checks at dentists and optometrists will enable thousands of people to monitor their blood pressure and could potentially be life-saving.

“Many otherwise healthy people over 40 only visit their GP when they’re feeling unwell, but offering these vital checks as part of routine dentist or eye test appointments means we can identify and support more people at risk.

“High blood pressure is a significant factor in many cardiovascular diseases but as it usually has no symptoms, many people don’t know they have it, so I would urge anyone offered a check to come forward.”

The NHS has piloted the scheme in local dental and optometry teams in London and Yorkshire, but now more sites across England will trial the service with patients who may not otherwise have interactions with NHS services.

There are 15 local integrated care boards across England taking part in the scheme six areas will focus on case finding at dentists, five in optometry, and four will be offering checks at both dental and optometry sites.

More than 60 clinical practices across England will trial the new approach and its expected over 100,000 blood pressure checks could be delivered over the next 12 months.

In Humber and North Yorkshire where the approach was trialled across 24 dental practices, around one in ten patients tested were found to have hypertension.

In London, five optical practices in Bexley and Hackney offered blood pressure checks to patients. A survey of those tested also indicated that around half wouldn’t have otherwise had their blood pressure checked.