South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) is joining calls during national ‘Know Your Numbers Week’ to identify the estimated five million adults in the UK who are living with undiagnosed high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors for strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease. It also increases the risk of dementia.
According to Blood Pressure UK, around five million adults in the UK aged 18-64 may have undiagnosed high blood pressure and most will have no symptoms.
There are several ways you can get your blood pressure checked:
- Contact your GP
- Visit your local pharmacy
- Use a blood pressure monitor to check it at home
Further information on how to measure your blood pressure at home can be found on the Know Your Numbers website.
If you discover you do have high blood pressure, there are simple lifestyle choices you can make to help reduce it:
- Cut down on salt
- Eat a healthy, well-balanced, high fibre diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit
- Increase your physical activity
- Drink less alcohol
- Stop smoking
A normal blood pressure reading should be under 140/90 mmHg. If your reading is higher seek medical advice from your GP.
If your blood pressure reading is 90/60 mmHg or less, this is considered to have low blood pressure. It doesn’t always indicate a health problem but can be a sign of another illness or condition.
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