AN injection that lowers cholesterol to protect against heart attacks will be available within six years, doctors hope.

The once-a-year jab, now being tested in clinical trials, would end the need to take daily statin pills for millions of patients.

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Daily dose … more than seven million adults take statin tablets to cut the risk of heart attack

It works by boosting the body's ability to remove cholesterol from the blood, cutting levels by as much as a third in high-risk adults.

The treatment could be on the market as soon as 2023 at a cost of between £625 and £1,200 a time, say researchers.

Dr Tim Chico, from Sheffield University, said the inventive new therapy "would be likely to lead to a reduction in heart attacks".

High cholesterol is bad for the heart, raising your risk of heart attack and stroke

Cholesterol contributes to the stiffening and ­narrowing of arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.