News Release

Occupational health staff called to help reach adults in dark about the dangers of high blood pressure

7 July 2008

The Blood Pressure Association (BPA) is inviting occupational health staff to take part in Know your Numbers! Week 2008 to help raise awareness of the blood pressure ‘ticking time bomb’.

Know your Numbers! Week (8 -14 September) is the nation’s biggest blood pressure event which provides free blood pressure checks at thousands of ‘Pressure Stations’ run by healthcare professionals nationwide.

The BPA is encouraging occupational health staff and other health professionals, to run Pressure Stations to help reach some of the 5.3 million adults in the UK who do not know they have high blood pressure. Undetected and uncontrolled high blood pressure is the most common cause of strokes, heart attacks and heart disease.

The BPA was a winner at The Charity Awards 2008 for the campaign, which aims to encourage people to take control of their health and know their blood pressure numbers in the same way they know their height and weight.

Know Your Numbers! Week gives health professionals, qualified to measure blood pressure as part of their role, the opportunity to meet professional goals, reach people they might not normally see, and benefit from the publicity generated by this successful event. Health professionals who register with the BPA will receive a BPA resource pack that includes testing guidelines, leaflets, posters and record cards.

More than 253,000 adults had their blood pressure tested during Know Your Numbers! Week 2007. Occupational health staff was responsible for setting up 163 of the 2,755 Pressure Stations which offered free checks. Around 40 per cent of people tested were found to have high blood pressure readings which needed further investigation.

Jeannette Lount, Occupational Health Consultant at Siemens Metering Services, who took part last year, said: "Many people don’t know that high blood pressure is a serious condition so it was really good to be able to raise awareness amongst the staff. I felt that the package of promotional materials made my life as a busy Occupational Health Consultant very much easier. There was maximum benefit to the employees with minimal effort. I have recommended Know your Numbers to my colleagues.".

Mark Hooley, BPA Projects and Marketing Officer who organises the event, explains: "Undiagnosed high blood pressure is a ticking time bomb and a potentially life threatening condition. But with the help of occupational health professionals, we can identify some of the UK adult population who are unaware that they have high blood pressure and potentially save lives. Occupational health officers can make blood pressure testing easily accessible, particularly for men, who are unlikely to have to visit their doctor for regular blood pressure checks."

Registration for Know your Numbers! Week 2008 closes soon, so visit the BPA’s website www.bpassoc.org.uk/kyn or call Mark Hooley on 020 8772 4992 to sign up today.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact:
Michelle Gederon, BPA Press & PR Officer, 020 8772 4993

• The Blood Pressure Association, the UK’s blood pressure charity, provides information and support to people with high blood pressure and raises awareness about prevention of the condition. For more details visit www.bpassoc.org.uk or call 020 8772 4994.