People in North Yorkshire are being encouraged to take advantage of a simple free blood pressure check that could bring to light the risk of conditions that cause 160 deaths in the county each month.
On average, 85,000 people in North Yorkshire are living with heart and circulatory diseases each month, while the diseases kill more than one in four people across the county according to analysis by the British Heart Foundation.
A blood pressure check can be the first step to preventing heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure is a major cause of these diseases, but it usually has no symptoms until it is too late.
High blood pressure can also lead to vascular dementia, and although around 100,000 people in North Yorkshire have already been diagnosed with high blood pressure, thousands more will have it without knowing.
As part of Blood Pressure UK’s Know Your Numbers Week, which takes place from today (September 2) to Sunday, September 8, North Yorkshire Council is increasing awareness of the health risks of high blood pressure.
In total, 30 libraries, six locations that the supermobile library will be visiting, plus health kiosks across North Yorkshire are offering a walk-in blood pressure point for the public to make use of which could not only alleviate the pressures on doctor’s surgeries, but identify an abnormality potentially saving a life.
North Yorkshire Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “Often referred to as the ‘silent killer’, high blood pressure can result in heart attacks and strokes and isn’t just a worry for older people.
“Fortunately, many of the causes of high blood pressure, such as smoking, being overweight, eating too much salt and not doing enough physical activity, can be changed, so knowing your numbers means you can start making healthy lifestyle changes or start taking medicines if you need them to bring your blood pressure down to a healthy level.
“It’s so important to get your blood pressure checked and we are delighted that our libraries are delivering such a worthwhile service. Please do pop into one of the participating local libraries to get your blood pressure checked.”
This year’s Know Your Numbers campaign follows a pilot scheme offered to library users by Whitby Library to help GPs and encourage people to make healthier lifestyle choices. The library had a walk-in blood pressure point, as well as a device that could be borrowed for 10 days alleviating pressures on GP surgeries.
North Yorkshire Council director of public health, Louise Wallace, added: “Monitoring your blood pressure is incredibly important and spotting abnormalities can save lives. We hope identifying any problems can be a catalyst to individuals contacting their local community pharmacy.
“Some people might not be able to do this simple check, so we urge as many as possible to visit their library and use the monitors.”
The authority’s executive member for culture, arts and housing, Cllr Simon Myers added: “Once again our libraries are proving to be much more than books and this year we want everyone to ‘Know Their Numbers’ to help improve the detection of undiagnosed hypertension.”
You can find out more information and a list of some of the pop-up blood pressure stations and health kiosks available in North Yorkshire during Know Your Numbers Week, here: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/knowyournumbers
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