PEOPLE in East Oxford are being urged to make the most of a free heart ‘MoT’ this month .

NHS Oxfordshire, the county’s primary care trust, will be offering people aged between 40 and 74 the health checks as part of a campaign to tackle cardiovascular disease across the county.

Health workers will be on hand in Cowley Road and Manzil Way to measure the blood pressure, weight, height and body mass index of anyone who participates.

With this information they will then be able to work out their risk of a future heart attack and stroke, and offer healthy living advice.

The first healthy heart check session will be held at Boots, in Cowley Road, on Monday between 9.30am and 5pm, and at East Oxford Health Centre, on Tuesday, March 30, between 1pm and 5.30pm.

Each test takes about 15 minutes.

For more information visit the website at oxfordshirepct.nhs.uk It is estimated that out of 240,000 Oxfordshire adults aged between 40 and 74, about 40,000 are at risk of cardiovascular disease.

NHS Oxfordshire is rolling out the free checks across the parts of Oxford and Banbury it has deemed most likely to be at risk of heart disease and strokes.

Claire Laurent, health improvement practitioner at NHS Oxfordshire, said: “If you might benefit from a healthier lifestyle we can refer you to a health trainer to help you achieve your goal.”