David’s blog: Get a free blood pressure check at your local community pharmacy
By David Evans, pharmacist and chair of Community Pharmacy Derbyshire
Do you know your numbers?
It’s “know your numbers” week from 2 to 8 September and community pharmacies across Derbyshire are ready to welcome you at any time for a free, simple, blood pressure check.
Your “numbers” are the reading from the blood pressure testing monitor and if they are high, this can be a warning sign.
High blood pressure has been reported in almost 70% of stroke patients and it causes half of all heart attacks, but it has no noticeable symptoms – leading it to be called “the silent killer”.
High blood pressure – also called hypertension – also puts you at risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and vascular dementia.
In Derbyshire County Council area it is estimated that 22,068 people have undiagnosed high blood pressure.
Yet hypertension is one of the most preventable and treatable conditions.
Pharmacists, GPs and communities are working hard to encourage the people who have undiagnosed hypertension to come forward for their check.
Some groups of people are at higher risk of high blood pressure, including people aged over 40, people who are overweight, and people of Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds.
The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have a check. They are free if you are aged 40 or over. If you are aged 35 to 39 and have a family history of hypertension you can also get checked, following a brief assessment by the pharmacist.
Your community pharmacist is trained to carry out blood pressure checks and he or she will carry out the check in a private consulting area.
Ask whether your can have a check when you visit – appointments are not usually required – and pharmacies are often open in the evenings and at weekends.
Getting your blood pressure checked is like taking a snapshot of your heart’s health. It’s a simple yet crucial step to understand your body’s inner workings.
Depending on what your readings are the pharmacist may:
- Offer you lifestyle advice. This might include areas such as diet, exercise, smoking and drinking alcohol.
- Refer you to your GP. High blood pressure can be treated with medication that lowers the risk of stroke or heart attack. That visit to your GP could save your life.
You should be able to find a pharmacy within easy reach of wherever you live, or you can use the find a pharmacy website to locate the one that is closest to your postcode.