NEWS RELEASE
Paydens Group of Pharmacies offers free blood pressure checks during Know your Numbers! Week
27 August 2008
Paydens Group of Pharmacies will be providing free blood pressure checks from September 8-14 as part of the Blood Pressure Association’s Know your Numbers! Week.
The pharmacy group is urging local residents to have their blood pressure checked to see if they are at risk of high blood pressure.
48 Paydens Group of Pharmacies nationwide are 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.
Paydens Group of Pharmacies is 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.
Dennis Pay, Managing Director of Paydens Group of Pharmacies, said: “We are delighted to be on board the Blood Pressure Association’s campaign and feel that it’s important to help raise more awareness about high blood pressure. Our customers will have the opportunity to take advantage of a free blood pressure check which could potentially save them from life threatening illnesses such as 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
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 Paydens Group of Pharmacies, to arrange for your reporter to have their blood pressure checked, or for a photo or interview with a Paydens Group of Pharmacies, please contact: Natalie Pay at Paydens, 01622 772 076, or email natalie.pay@paydens.com www.paydenspharmacy.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
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