All people aged between 40 and 74 will be screened for major illnesses by the NHS under a national programme announced today.

Health secretary Alan Johnson said tests would look for signs of vascular diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

These diseases kill 170,000 people and affect more than four million people every year.

The government hopes a national screening programme will shift the NHS' focus from cure to prevention and will help reduce the mortality gap between the rich and the poor.

It estimates that a vascular check programme would prevent 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes; save 9,500 heart attacks and strokes; and could also detect at least 25,000 cases of diabetes or kidney disease earlier, allowing cases to be better managed and improving outcomes.

The plans were first outlined by the prime minister in January, when he said that it is wrong preventative screening is mainly available for those who can pay for it.

"The NHS is becoming more personal and responsive to individual needs; becoming as good at prevention and keeping people healthy as it is at providing care and cures; and able to offer the information and support people need to make healthy choices," Mr Johnson said this morning.

"This is an NHS that is properly equipped to face the challenges of the next 60 years."

Vascular tests will include questions and measurements such as age, sex, family history, height, weight and blood pressure.

A simple blood test to measure cholesterol will also be carried out.

Each person will then receive a personal assessment report setting out their level of risk and advice on how they can reduce it.

Implementation of the tests is scheduled for 2009/10; the government will work until then with medical professionals and voluntary sector workers to draw up how the system will work.

Commenting on the announcement, Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Despite great advances in treatments, vascular disease is still the UK's biggest killer.

"These risk assessments could really help tackle vascular conditions like stroke and heart disease, but will only work if it is backed up by real investment in the support and treatments required by people identified as being at risk.

"The big focus must be on reaching those at highest risk, who are often in our most deprived and hard to reach communities."

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