NEWS RELEASE
Manor Pharmacy branches offer free blood pressure checks during Know your Numbers! week
26 August 2008
Manor Pharmacy branches throughout the East Midlands will be providing free blood pressure checks from September 8-14 as part of the Blood Pressure Association’s Know your Numbers! Week.
The pharmacies are urging local residents to have their blood pressure checked to see if they are at risk of high blood pressure.
The pharmacies are joining pharmacies nationwide taking part in the award-winning campaign run by UK charity the Blood Pressure Association.
16 million adults in the UK have high blood pressure (that’s one in three) but more than five million of them don't know it because the condition has no obvious symptoms.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure causes strokes, heart attack and heart failure, and can also lead to kidney disease and dementia. However, once detected, the condition can be successfully treated.
Manor Pharmacy branches are among 3,000 official ‘Pressure Stations’ being held in pharmacies, supermarkets, shopping centres, workplaces and a wide range of community venues offering free blood pressure checks across the UK during the charity’s event.
David Evans, Superintendent Pharmacist at Manor Pharmacy, said: "We are very pleased to be supporting the Blood Pressure Association’s Know your Numbers! Week. The only way to know if you need to lower you blood pressure is by having a blood pressure check and we hope that local people will take advantage of a free check and reduce their risk of stroke and heart disease."
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.
"So take control and reduce your risk of the silent killer by having a free blood pressure check during Know your Numbers! Week. It's quick, free and painless and could save your life."
To find out more about the 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
Full list of Manor Pharmacy branches that will be offering free blood pressure checks during Know your Numbers! Week.
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 Manor Pharmacy, to arrange for your reporter to have their blood pressure checked, or for a photo or interview with a local Manor Pharmacy pharmacist, please contact: David Evans at Manor Pharmacy on 0115 9440222 www.manorpharmacy.co.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.
- Manor Pharmacy is the trading name of W R Evans (Chemist) Limited. An independently owned and family run business which has been serving the residents of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire for nearly half a century. From small beginnings in Sheffield, W R Evans (Chemist) Ltd has grown steadily to become the largest "independent" retail pharmacy presence within the East Midlands, with around 50 pharmacies situated in most of the major towns and city suburbs.
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