This week is Know Your Numbers! Week, led by Blood Pressure UK.
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 begin taking medicines if you need them to bring your blood pressure down to a healthy level.
You can contact wellbeing here at UoS to book in for a blood pressure check for your team. Simply email [email protected] to arrange.
Here are some testimonials from those who have had blood pressure checks at the University:
“Recently, our team were visited by the Wellbeing team to have our blood pressures measured to raise awareness of World Hypertension day, and I was surprised to find out my blood pressure was high!
Having a vegetarian diet, being very active, and younger than 30, I had made the assumption that it would be super low, i had no reason to think otherwise. After the test, I followed the advice of the Wellbeing team and contacted my GP, who helped me to identify a few lifestyle changes to reduce my blood pressure.
Now I test my blood pressure regularly (it only takes a few seconds) and it has returned back to normal range. My high blood pressure would have continued if not for the interaction with the Wellbeing team. Thank you!”
Another attendee said “I was so pleased to have the opportunity to have my blood pressure checked at work. I’d been thinking about getting it looked at for a while and after my check I was advised to see my GP because of a high reading. I had it checked at my GP’s surgery the following day and they are going to monitor my blood pressure for a few weeks and then take further steps depending on the outcome. I’m relieved to have had it checked as it’s so important to monitor it to reduce my risk of a stroke or other serious health problems in the future”.
You can also monitor your blood pressure at home or visit a pharmacy for a free of charge blood pressure check if you meet their specific criteria.