Know Your Numbers

Know Your Numbers Week is nearly upon us once again – that time of year when we encourage local people – including our own staff – to find out what their blood pressure is.
Know Your Numbers Week runs from 8 to 14 September but at Frimley Health and Care we’ll be sharing messages across the whole of September.
The campaign exists because an estimated five million people nationwide don’t know where they stand. With high blood pressure often showing no symptoms, it’s understandable that someone in apparent good health wouldn’t feel the urgency to get checked. Yet the potential consequences of untreated high blood pressure can be devastating, including heart attack, stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and dementia.
Experience shows that random blood pressure checks – using a family member or friend’s monitor, or taking up an opportunity at a community outreach event outside your local supermarket, for example – are an effective method of finding the hidden cases.
That’s why at Frimley Health and Care, we’re not only asking everyone who sees this message to find out what their blood pressure is, we’re also keen to encourage more people to host blood pressure monitors, so they can help relatives, neighbours, colleagues, community group members, and so on, to have a test. If people won’t actively seek out testing opportunities, we need to spread the testing opportunities so they reach more people.
It’s important to note that blood pressure testing is quick and painless (it’s non-invasive) and is also available free of charge at a number of locations. NHS Frimley has monitors permanently available for staff to use at its offices in Aldershot and Windsor and we would encourage other employers to think about doing the same. If you want to check your blood pressure you can also visit your local pharmacy, while many GP practice reception areas now have monitors for patients to use before appointments.
So this Know Your Numbers month and week, please first of all check your own blood pressure and, secondly, spread the word and if you would like to host a monitor as part of helping others to check their blood pressure, get in touch via: frimleyicb.public@nhs.net