Know Your Numbers! – Blood Pressure Week
This year’s theme is ‘You Have the Power’.
With the everyday pressures of life, we know that understanding why it’s important to know your blood pressure numbers and taking the time to get them measured isn’t always a priority. However, did you know that getting a blood pressure check is the first step to preventing heart attacks and strokes? High blood pressure is a major cause of these diseases but usually has no symptoms until it’s too late, which is why it’s known as ‘the silent killer’. Knowing your numbers means you can start making healthy lifestyle changes or start taking medicines if you need them to bring your blood pressure down to a healthy level. So the power is in your hands to check your blood pressure to see if it’s under control.
Your blood pressure is very important no matter your age. High blood pressure is not simply a part of growing old. You can take steps to know your numbers and lower them if it’s high no matter how old you are. So why not power up and make a start today?
You have the power to successfully manage your blood pressure – but you have to know your numbers first. Get checked to beat ‘the silent killer’.
Home monitoring is an effective and inexpensive way to keep blood pressure under control and the evidence behind it continues to get stronger. It offers a way for YOU to take control of your health, feel confident, and take the pressure off the NHS at the same time. It gives you a practical way to Know Your Numbers! without visiting your GP, practice nurse, or pharmacist in person. It puts you in the driver’s seat, and it really can save lives.
This year, we want everyone to Know Their Numbers! and find those with undiagnosed and uncontrolled high blood pressure. We will:
- encourage the nation to use a simple and reliable blood pressure monitor to measure their blood pressure at home
- and take the necessary steps if their reading is considered high
- raise awareness about the risks of high blood pressure.
High blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and other illnesses. Once you Know Your Numbers! you can get support to bring your blood pressure under control and prevent these diseases.
Around a third of people in the UK have high blood pressure, but most don’t know it. It doesn’t have any symptoms so, the only way to find out is to have a blood pressure check.