High blood pressure is a major cause of heart attacks and stroke. Around one in three adults have high blood pressure, but many don’t realise it because it often doesn’t have any symptoms until it’s too late.
High blood pressure can often be prevented or reduced by:
- eating healthily
- maintaining a healthy weight
- taking regular exercise
- drinking alcohol in moderation
- not smoking
In Gloucestershire, prevention and increasing the early identification of high blood pressure and supporting those with a diagnosis to manage their condition are important priorities.
Check Your Blood Pressure
The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked. Getting this done is easy and could save your life.
All adults over 40 years old are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years.
Getting this done is easy and could save your life.
How to access a blood pressure check:
- At a pharmacy (use the NHS website to find a pharmacy close to you)
- The Community Vaccination and Health team are regularly visiting locations around the county delivering simple health checks, including blood pressure. Check their webpage for dates and locations.
- At your local GP Surgery – Some GP surgeries have a blood pressure machine in their waiting room, or you may be able to book a check with a member of the surgery team
- You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor. Home monitoring can be a really useful way of keeping track of your blood pressure. To make sure you get reliable readings, it’s important to use a monitor that’s suitable for you and that you know how to use it. Find out more about home blood pressure monitoring on the Blood Pressure UK website, or speak to a pharmacist about what type of monitor may best suit your needs.
Find out more about getting a blood pressure test.
Once you have checked your blood pressure, you can check out what the results might mean for you by using the NHS blood pressure checker .
Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire
The service can help identify changes that you can make, and support you to achieve them.
Blood Pressure UK
A good source for finding out more information about your blood pressure.
The British Heart Foundation
Providing advice and support to help people monitor their blood pressure at home.
NHS website
Find out more about the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of high blood pressure.