London : A new nationwide heart health programme launches today, aiming to provide up to 100,000 workers with access to digital cardiovascular health assessments that can be completed in minutes using a smartphone and finger-prick blood sample.
Believed to be the largest corporate cardiovascular screening initiative in UK history, the programme is being led by Pharmacy2U in partnership with digital diagnostics company PocDoc and aims to improve awareness of cardiovascular disease in the workplace while supporting earlier detection of risk factors linked to heart attacks and strokes.
Royal Mail is one of the first organisations to join the new Healthy Heart Programme as part of a shared mission to help employees better understand and manage their heart health. The programme will offer PocDoc powered digital cholesterol and cardiovascular health checks to employees nationwide, allowing them to complete a clinically validated assessment at home, at their desk or on the move in around ten minutes.
The programme aims to reach the 62% of English adults who were not reached through the NHS Health Check programme last year1, where cholesterol and cardiovascular risk issues are typically identified.
Carl Lockwood, a postman based in Leeds, continues to work for Royal Mail after surviving a cardiac arrest that caused his heart to stop three times, requiring CPR from a colleague before paramedics arrived. He lives with atrial fibrillation, which cannot be restored to a normal rhythm and is managed through medication alongside a stent in his left ventricle.
He said: “I’ve always been your typical postie, on my feet all day, loving exercise and getting out and about. That was why my cardiac arrest was so unexpected.
“What Pharmacy2U is doing is brilliant. It’s so important that people get the chance to check in on their heart health, as it really can happen to anyone. I’m glad my colleagues will get an opportunity to learn about their heart health, and I’m looking forward to hearing positive stories from workplaces across the country.”
Participants will receive a free Healthy Heart Check developed with PocDoc, combining proprietary microfluidic technology with AI driven digital diagnostics to deliver a clinically validated cardiovascular assessment through a smartphone.
The assessment provides users with a full cholesterol profile, body mass index score, NHS heart age and a 10 year risk assessment for heart attacks and strokes, helping people better understand their cardiovascular health without needing to arrange a GP appointment.
Steve Roest, Founder and CEO of PocDoc, said: “Too many people are still missing opportunities to identify cardiovascular risk early, often because traditional testing pathways can feel inconvenient or inaccessible.
“What makes this programme significant is the scale. Workplace health initiatives are often fragmented or limited in reach, but this programme has the potential to become the largest corporate cardiovascular screening initiative ever delivered in the UK.
“Our mission at PocDoc is to make clinically validated health testing available to anyone, anywhere, using technology people already have in their pocket. By bringing digital cardiovascular assessments directly into workplaces, we can help thousands more people better understand their heart health and take action earlier.”
Kevin Heath, CEO, Pharmacy2U, said: “When life gets busy, health checks are often the first thing to fall to the bottom of the to do list. Bringing cardiovascular testing into the workplace makes it easier for people to access checks without taking extra time out of their day.
“We’ve worked with Royal Mail for over 25 years, so this gives us a chance to give back to one of our longest standing partners, and the employees who deliver millions of prescriptions for us every year. We are proud to be rolling this out nationwide to promote early detection and do our part in helping to improve the heart health of thousands of people across the UK.”
Pharmacy2U is pioneering a digital first approach to health testing and support, which includes a pharmacist telephone consultation about the test results. A programme of healthy heart information and support is delivered to participants over 8 to 10 weeks, with the option to take a second test where appropriate.
Fiona McAslan, Head of Wellbeing at Royal Mail, said: “Our people are the heart of our business, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to remove barriers that might be stopping people from prioritising their health.
“Workplace wellbeing is becoming increasingly important to our industry, and we know that our employees are always looking for ways to check in on their health.”
As sick days reach 9.5 days a year per worker in the UK, the programme also allows businesses to help employees identify potential cardiovascular risk factors earlier, supporting healthier and more productive workforces2.
The nationwide testing programme follows a 2025 study from Pharmacy2U into the effectiveness of at-home cholesterol testing. The company is aiming to work with the NHS to adopt the digital first clinical pathway as an NHS service.
The study found one in four Brits aged 40 to 74 have never had their cholesterol checked3, despite cardiovascular disease causing around a quarter of UK deaths4 .
