Know your numbers week (2-8 September 2024)
Do you ever stop to think about your blood pressure?
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, often has no symptoms. In fact, the first sign could be as serious as a heart attack or stroke!
High blood pressure is one of the most common conditions in this country, more than one in four adults in the UK have the condition and that’s why we are encouraging everyone over 40 to have their blood pressure checked.
Monitoring your blood pressure is easy:
- Many pharmacies offer free blood pressure checks to people aged 40 or over who live in England. Find a pharmacy offering this service on the NHS website.
- Blood pressure monitors may be borrowed from Bognor Regis, Goring or Crawley libraries (these can't be sent to other libraries for customers at present).
- You can buy a monitor to check your blood pressure at home, see the British Heart Foundation website for recommendations.
- If you are aged between 40 and 74 years old, with no pre-existing conditions, you can have a free NHS Health Check which includes blood pressure measurement. The check takes around 30-minutes and will tell you your level of cardiovascular risk and what you can do to ensure it stays low. To find NHS Health Check providers near you, visit our NHS Health Check page.
Simple lifestyle changes can help reduce high blood pressure, like eating healthily and avoiding too much salt. Contact your local Wellbeing team for advice about stopping smoking, staying a healthy weight, getting active and cutting down on alcohol.
More information about the risks and how to check your blood pressure can be found on the NHS Sussex website.