Statins are to be made available over the counter by pharmacists, in a bid to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, the chief executive of the NHS has announced.

It is estimated nearly 8 million adults in the UK currently take the statins, but millions more are still at risk because they do not take the drug.

The decision could help those millions of patients get easier access to the lifesaving medicine.

Statins are currently only available on prescription through a GP, and help to lower bad cholesterol in the blood.

Simon Stevens made the announcement yesterday at the NHS Health and Care Innovation Expo in Manchester.

Simon Stevens made the announcement at the NHS Expo in Manchester. credit: Getty Images Europe/WPA Pool

It follows Monday’s statement that high street pharmacies will soon offer heart checks to search for high risk conditions.

From October, chemists will begin rolling out the “rapid detection service,” which includes mobile electrocardiograms to spot irregular heartbeats, as well as checks on blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The eligibility for the statins will not change, Mr Stevens said yesterday, but by enabling pharmacists to make them available to patients it could deal with an “unmet need” that exists for the drug.

Mr Stevens said: “Since the NHS will be funding local chemists to undertake health checks, it makes sense to consider whether there are a broader range of medicines that patients could access conveniently and locally on the high street.

“So the NHS will now work with the MHRA and industry to see how we can best make this happen.

“After cancer lung scanning trucks in supermarket carparks and High Street heart checks, this is another step towards making care and treatment more accessible, convenient and effective.”

The review, launched last night and which will begin immediately, will look into how the cholesterol-busting drugs could be provided over the counter.

The findings will be presented to manufacturers and the medicines watchdog - the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) - which will approve the final decision.

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Statins, cost around 4 pence per day, per patient, and help to reduce the level of ‘bad cholesterol’ in the blood which leads to fatty deposits building up and hardening the arteries.

This build up increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and coronary heart disease, which contribute to around seven percent of all deaths in England every year.

Research from Cambridge University - and funded by the British Heart Foundation - published at the European Society of Cardiology Conference in Paris this week, has shown that the benefits of statins are potentially even higher than previously reported.

Dr Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer, said: “Used appropriately, statins are effective and can save lives.

“Hundreds of thousands of people could benefit if industry committed more research and investment in bringing high-dose statins to the high street, and the NHS is going to be driving forward these efforts, as we save thousands of lives from deadly heart attacks and strokes as part of our Long Term Plan.”