Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) is currently running a blood pressure awareness campaign due to the charity’s concern around the number of people living with undetected high blood pressure and the fact 1 in 2 heart attacks and strokes are linked to the condition.
As part of the campaign, NICHS will be offering free blood pressure checks at selected MACE stores and they are urging the public to come along and have their blood pressure measured.
Fidelma Carter, Head of Public Health at NICHS says:
“Approximately 280,317 people, or 15% of the population here in Northern Ireland, are living with high blood pressure but there is a significant proportion of people, around 1 in every 8, who have high blood pressure and do not realise it.
"This gives us great cause for concern due to the link between heart attacks and strokes and high blood pressure.
“Undetected high blood pressure is often known as ‘The Silent Killer’ due to the fact it rarely causes any physical symptoms or warning signs and is often only discovered after someone suffers a stroke or heart attack. The only way to know what your blood pressure is, and if it is high, is to have it measured and we are delighted to be working with our corporate partner MACE to give the public an opportunity to access free blood pressure checks.”
Fidelma continued:
“The NI Chest Heart and Stroke Health Promotion team will be visiting MACE, Ballykeel, Ballymena on Thursday 6th October and MACE Rathkenny on Tuesday 11th October from 10am to 3pm to provide pop-up blood pressure checks to the local community.
"We want to provide people with a convenient opportunity to get their blood pressure checked. We understand how busy everyday life can be but making time for your health is so important, so why not get a check when you visit the store for some shopping!
"A blood pressure check is simple and only takes a few minutes, but it really could help save your life.
“If you can’t make it to the pop-up checks there are a number of other ways you can get your blood pressure checked. You can make an appointment with your GP or visit your local pharmacy which may operate a blood pressure monitoring service. You could also buy a blood pressure machine for home monitoring or alternatively, book an NICHS Well Check, our comprehensive health checks service, at www.nichs.org.uk/get-a-health-check.”
For further information about the pop-up blood pressure checks and support about blood pressure, visit https://nichs.org.uk/your-numbers-up-blood-pressure