NEWS RELEASE
Chichester residents offered free blood pressure checks as part of charity's Know your Numbers! Week
29 August 2008
Chichester residents will be offered free blood pressure checks from 8-14 September as part of the nation’s biggest blood pressure testing event, Know your Numbers! Week 2008.
The free blood pressure checks will be provided at Chichester Chiropractors and outside Chichester City Council Offices. The two venues will be among 3,000 official ‘Pressure Stations’ offering free blood pressure checks nationwide during the week-long campaign run by UK charity the Blood Pressure Association from 8-14 September.
There are currently 16 million adults in the UK who have high blood pressure, but around 5 million of them don’t know it. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause stroke, heart attack and heart failure. If left untreated, someone with this level of blood pressure is three times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke, and twice as likely to die from them than someone with a healthy blood pressure.
Trained staff from Chichester Chiropractors will be on hand to give people a free blood pressure check and information from the Blood Pressure Association, explaining what the numbers mean and giving tips on how to lower blood pressure.
They will be offering the free checks at Chichester Chiropractors, 2 New Town, Chichester on:
- 8-12 September, 9-5pm
and will also taking the free blood pressure checks out into the community by setting up a Pressure Station outside Chichester Assembly Rooms on:
- Friday 12 September, 2pm onwards
Registered Chiropractor Dr Daniel Heritage, of Chichester Chiropractors, said: “People who don’t have their blood pressure checked regularly have the opportunity to receive a free blood pressure check and information on how to lower their numbers if they need to. A blood pressure check can be an important first step to reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease. Chichester Chiropractors are concerned about their patients overall health and monitors the blood pressure of its patients particularly as many of them are older and we think that it is important to raise awareness about high blood pressure.”
Mike Rich, Executive Director of the Blood Pressure Association, said: “To raise awareness during this year’s campaign we are asking ‘Are you at risk from the ticking time bomb?’ Uncontrolled high blood pressure is like a hidden time bomb which can cause stroke, heart attack and heart failure. Once detected, it can be successfully treated.
“So we hope people in Chichester will take control and reduce their risk of the silent killer by having a free blood pressure check during Know you Numbers! Week. It’s quick, free and painless and could save your life.”
To find out more about the Know your Numbers! campaign, or for a free blood pressure information pack, visit the Know your Numbers! website at www.bpassoc.org.uk/kyn or call 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).
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- For more information on Know your Numbers! Week or on high blood pressure, contact the Blood Pressure Association’s Press Office on 020 8772 4993/4984, or email mgederon@sgul.ac.uk.
- For further information on blood pressure checks at Chichester Chiropractors or outside the Assembly Rooms, Chichester City Council offices, to arrange for your reporter to have their blood pressure checked, or for a photo or interview please contact Michelle Gederon at the Blood Pressure Association on 020 8772 4993, or email mgederon@sgul.ac.uk.
- The Blood Pressure Association is the UK’s leading blood pressure charity working to lower the nation’s blood pressure. The charity provides information and support for people with high blood pressure and raises awareness to prevent the condition. The charity recently won the healthcare category of The Charity Awards 2008 for its work on the Know your Numbers! campaign. For more information visit the charity’s main website at www.bpassoc.org.uk, call head office on 020 8772 4994 or contact our information line on 0845 241 0989.
Links:
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