A mass screening programme for people over 40 will divide them into categories of low, moderate or high risk, depending on their likelihood of developing coronary heart disease within a decade.
Patients found to have a 20 per cent or higher chance of developing heart disease, which leads to heart attacks and strokes, will be recommended drugs to reduce their cholesterol levels, while those with a risk between 10 and 20 per cent will be urged to make lifestyle changes to improve their health forecast.
Checks, which include blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and measurement, will take place in pharmacists, supermarkets, bingo halls and leisure centres as well as in GP practices.
When the tests are not done in GP practices, high-risk patients will be told to visit their doctor to be prescribed statins, which reduce cholesterol levels, while those with lower ratings will receive lifestyle advice on the spot.
But some doctors fear too many healthy patients will become "medicalised" by an over-protective system expected to double the number of prescribed anti-cholesterol drugs.