The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have launched their latest press partnership to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease and to encourage people to get their blood pressure checked. This is the first step in preventing the range of life-threatening health conditions that can be caused by it.
All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years. It’s easy to get this done for free and in privacy, including at many pharmacies, your GP surgery (where many have 'self-check patient pods'), as part of your NHS Health Check and even in some workplaces. You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor.
Key facts
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death and disability. In 2019, CVD accounted for almost one in four (24%) deaths in England across all ages.
- CVD is largely preventable. Most CVD cases and deaths can be attributed to modifiable risk factors such as high blood pressure, high-cholesterol, obesity, poor diet and smoking.
- Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the largest known risk factor for CVD. Over a quarter of adults in England have high blood pressure although many will not realise it due to a lack of noticeable symptoms.
- Persistent high blood pressure can increase your risk of a number of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as a heart attack and stroke.
- The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test.
Want to read more? Many news outlets have published articles online as part of the partnership with the DHSC: