Modest cuts to cholesterol and blood pressure can reduce the risk of heart attack and strokes by four-fifths, a major study has found.

The research on nearly 440,000 people found that such changes also cut death rates by two thirds.

Around 170,000 people a year die as a result of a heart attack, stroke or other circulatory condition in the UK.

One in three Britons have raised blood pressure, while six in ten have high cholesterol levels.

The Cambridge University study examined the impact of tackling these two major risk factors.

It found heart problems fell by 80 per cent in those who cut their bad cholesterol by 1mmol and managed to reduce blood pressure by 10mmHg.

Such results would typically be achieved by taking a daily statin and pill to treat hypertension.

Lead researcher Professor Brian Ference said: "Heart and circulatory diseases steal the lives of 168,000 people each year in the UK.

"Even small reductions in both ‘bad’ cholesterol and blood pressure for sustained periods of time can pay very big health dividends, and dramatically reduce the lifetime risk of developing heart and circulatory disease."

The genetic study, funded by British Heart Foundation and published in JAMA, was presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Paris.