1 in 2 heart attacks and strokes linked to high blood pressure warns leading local health charity

Fidelma Carter, head of Public Health at NICHS says; “Approximately 280,317 people, or 15% of the population here in Northern Ireland, are living with high blood pressure but there is a significant proportion of people, around one in every eight, who have high blood pressure and do not realise it. This gives us great cause for concern due to the link between heart attacks and strokes and high blood pressure and is something our new campaign aims to change.

“Undetected high blood pressure is often known as ‘The Silent Killer’ due to the fact it rarely causes any physical symptoms or warning signs and is often only discovered after someone suffers a stroke or heart attack. The only way to know what your blood pressure is, and if it is high, is to have it measured and that is what we are urging the public to do through our new campaign.”

“There are a number of ways you can get your blood pressure checked. You can make an appointment with your GP or visit your local pharmacy which may operate a blood pressure monitoring service. You could also buy a blood pressure machine for home monitoring or alternatively, book an NICHS Well Check, our comprehensive health checks service, at www.nichs.org.uk/get-a-health-check .”

Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury or mmHg. High blood pressure is indicated when readings begin to rise above the levels of 140/90mmHg- ideal blood pressure is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. One reading alone cannot diagnose high blood pressure however, it must be recorded over a period of time.

Fidelma added: “We will be hosting an Online Blood Pressure Advice Session featuring clinicians and health professionals on September 27 at 7pm. The session is open to everyone and will give information about preventing, detecting and managing high blood pressure to help reduce stroke and heart attack risk. We will have demonstrations on how to measure your blood pressure at home and provide information on how to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. All the details on how to join the advice session are available on our website at www.nichs.org.uk/highbloodpressure, where you can also find lots of resources and information about blood pressure.”

“The NI Chest Heart and Stroke Health Promotion team will be visiting a number of MACE stores throughout September and October to provide pop-up blood pressure checks to local communities. We want to provide people with a convenient opportunity to get their blood pressure checked. The NICHS website and social media channels will have all the details about the pop-up checks so please follow us online for more information.”

Fidelma added: “There are many lifestyle changes we can all make to help reduce our blood pressure and maintain it at a healthy level. These changes include maintaining a healthy weight, taking regular exercise and being more active, reducing salt intake, stopping smoking, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and cutting back on the amount of alcohol we drink.”

Read more: Northern Ireland man Thomas shares his experience of suffering a stroke at just 34