Optical and dental practices will trial blood pressure checks during routine appointments to identify patients at risk of stroke and heart attacks.
An NHS England pilot scheme was run by dental and optometry teams in London and Yorkshire but now more than 15 local integrated care boards will take part.
In London, five optical practices in Bexley and Hackney offered blood pressure checks to patients and a survey of those tested also indicated that around half would not have otherwise had their blood pressure checked.
More than 60 clinical practices across England will take part in the trial and over 100,000 blood pressure checks were expected to be delivered in the next 12 months.
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.’
A trial of the scheme has also taken place at pharmacies and delivered more than a million checks in the last year.