Diary dates

Could you YOU be the one in three? – that’s what UK charity the Blood Pressure Association is asking adults across the nation as it launches the UK’s biggest blood pressure testing event, Know your Numbers! Week (Monday 7 – Sunday 13 September).

High blood pressure affects a third of UK adults
Uncontrolled high blood pressure is the biggest cause of strokes and a major cause of heart disease and kidney disease. Yet one in three have no idea they have the condition because it’s symptomless. That’s why it’s called the ‘silent killer’. During last year’s Know your Numbers! Week, 72 per cent of people tested did not know their blood pressure numbers, yet 38 per cent were found to have high blood pressure readings.
To help tackle this, during Know your Numbers! Week 2009, around 1,500 venues known as Pressure Stations, will be offering free blood pressure checks at community and workplace venues nationwide. Pressure Stations venues range from train stations, shopping centres and street markets to bus garages and an oil rig in Scotland.
To find our where you can get your free blood pressure check, visit the Blood Pressure Association’s website www.bpassoc.org.uk/kyn where you can type in your nearest town or postcode to find your nearest Pressure Station or call the Blood Pressure Association on 020 8772 4994.
If you have a question about high blood pressure and would like to speak to someone over the phone, call the Blood Pressure Association’s Information Line on 0845 241 0989 (11am-3pm, Mon-Fri).