People aged 40 and over encouraged to get free blood pressure test
People aged 40 and over are being encouraged to help avoid potentially life-threatening health conditions by taking a free blood pressure check.
The residents across Wolverhampton are being encouraged to get a free blood pressure check at their nearest participating pharmacy as part of a new national campaign.
The NHS has said that high blood pressure is the largest single risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which causes one in four deaths in England.
A spokesman for the NHS said: "It can increase your risk of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as heart attacks stroke, kidney disease and vascular dementia.
"However, as high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, it is estimated that 4.2 million people in England have high blood pressure without knowing it.
"New data has also revealed that worrying numbers don’t know the potentially fatal effects of high blood pressure, with four in 10 unaware that, if left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, and over a fifth being unaware that it can cause strokes and heart attacks."
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: "The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get a blood pressure test, which is a free, simple, non-invasive procedure.
"If you're aged 40 and over, you can get a free blood pressure check at your local participating pharmacy, without needing to book in advance."
People can find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks near them by searching “pharmacy blood pressure check” online or at nhs.uk/nhs-services/pharmacies.
