The Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is supporting a new campaign to encourage people over the age of 40 to get a free blood pressure check at their local pharmacy.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, rarely has noticeable symptoms. But if untreated, it increases the risk of serious problems such as heart attacks, strokes and even serious kidney disease.
In Humber and North Yorkshire, an estimated 145,000 people are thought to have undiagnosed hypertension.
A new national campaign to encourage people to get their blood pressure checked – called ‘no clues’ – launched on 11 March.
The health and care partnership’s clinical lead for cardiovascular disease prevention, Dr James Crick, said: “Around one in four adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many will not realise it. ‘Knowing your numbers’ will identify any issues that could put you at greater risk of serious ill health; your GP practice will then work with you to bring down your blood pressure and advise on lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke or serious kidney disease.”
Dr Mark Wright, the health and care partnership’s Chronic Kidney Disease clinical lead and Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Kidney Network, added: “One in 10 people have something wrong with their kidneys. They are at risk of developing high blood pressure.
“This is a big problem because high blood pressure makes your kidneys wear out – fast. Having a blood pressure check and sometimes a urine test can help pick up problems early and stop your kidneys failing. A little time spent getting a blood pressure check can save a lot of time and trouble in the long run because people with bad kidney failure have several days of every week disrupted by dialysis treatment to keep them out of hospital. If you are offered a blood pressure check, please accept and talk to your GP practice if the reading is high.”
Katy Tennyson, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB’s Community Pharmacy clinical lead added: “Pharmacies have been offering free blood pressure checks to people aged 40 and over since October 2021. It’s a very quick and simple process and I would encourage anyone aged 40 and over who maybe hasn’t had their blood pressure checked in a while to pop into their nearest community pharmacy.”
There are almost 300 pharmacies in Humber and North Yorkshire offering free blood pressure checks to people aged 40 and over.
During the check, a pharmacist, or member of the pharmacy team, will wrap a blood pressure cuff around your upper arm to measure your blood pressure. They will then share the result with you.
Depending on the result, they might:
- give you advice to support healthy living
- offer you an ambulatory blood pressure check, where your blood measure is measured several times as you move around, living your daily life during waking hours only
- advise you to see a GP
If you’re registered with a GP surgery, your GP health record will be updated.
You can search online to find your nearest pharmacy offering free blood pressure checks at: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy-that-offers-free-blood-pressure-checks.
