5 September 2008

Local people in Willesden are being encouraged to pop into the Seventh Day Adventist Church Hall for a free blood pressure check as part of the nation’s biggest blood pressure testing event Know your Numbers! Week 2008.

The free blood pressure checks will be available to the public from 8 – 11 September as part of the event run by UK charity the Blood Pressure Association.

Nurses who attend the Seventh Day Adventist Church will be offering the free blood pressure checks at the church hall situated at the corner of Pound Lane and Glebe Road, Willesden. The venue will be among 3,000 official ‘Pressure Stations’ offering free blood pressure checks across the UK during the week-long campaign from 8-14 September.

16 million adults in the UK have high blood pressure, which undetected or uncontrolled can lead to strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. The condition is treatable and preventable, yet a third of these people are unaware they have high blood pressure because it doesn’t have obvious symptoms.

NHS Nurses will be on hand to give people a free blood pressure check and information, explaining what the numbers mean and giving tips on how to lower blood pressure, from the Blood Pressure Association.

Free blood pressure checks will be available at the Seventh Day Adventist Church Hall on:

Monday 8 September, 4-7pm
Tuesday 9 September, 10am-2pm
Wednesday 10 September, 4-7pm
Thursday 11 September, 10am-2pm

Elsie Staple, of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, said: “Our church is delighted to be helping the Blood Pressure Association create more awareness about high blood pressure and it’s really good to be able to make blood pressure testing more accessible to the African Caribbean community particularly as they are more likely to develop high blood pressure than most ethnic. Word missing? It’s a great opportunity for them to take advantage of the free blood pressure check and have the condition can be treated if necessary.”

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 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 the Seventh Day Adventist Church Hall, Willesden, 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.

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