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"Know Your Numbers! Week 2024" is an annual public health campaign organised by Blood Pressure UK, scheduled to run from 2nd - 8th September 2024.
The campaign this year “You Have The Power” aims to raise awareness about the dangers of high blood pressure (hypertension) and encourage the UK public to get their blood pressure checked, know their numbers, and take proactive steps to manage their health.
The Goal of "Know Your Numbers! Week"
Know Your Numbers: Understanding your blood pressure readings can be a lifesaver. The campaign emphasises that everyone should know their blood pressure numbers to assess their risk of hypertension.
Preventative Health: Blood pressure is often called the "silent killer" because it usually has no symptoms. Regular checks can help identify risks early and allow for timely intervention.
Accessible Testing: Throughout the week, Blood Pressure UK partners with pharmacies, workplaces, and community centres across the country to offer free blood pressure checks, making it easy for people to participate.
What is high blood pressure?
When your heart pumps blood around the body it goes through all your blood vessels. The strength of this blood flow is called the blood pressure. If the strength is too high, then it can cause damage to both the heart muscle and the blood vessels.
Why is blood pressure monitoring so important?
High blood pressure or hypertension as it's often called, is very common. Around one third of the adult population in the UK suffer from high blood pressure but because it often doesn't have any symptoms, most are not aware of it. You can of course feel tired, dizzy or experience headaches and these are often warning signs to have your blood pressure checked. But remember, you won't always have these symptoms.
High blood pressure is often called ‘the silent killer’ because if you don't have symptoms, it can cause untold damage to your body's organs without you being aware of it. If left unchecked it can lead to serious health problems such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and some forms of dementia. This is why you should get a regular blood pressure check.
What happens when you have your blood pressure checked?
Getting your blood pressure checked is easy. It can be done with a simple machine. A blood pressure reading usually has 2 readings, a higher and a lower reading. It's usually measured in millimeters of mercury or mmHg for short.
Where can you measure your blood pressure?
You can get your blood pressure checked in the comfort of your own home with your own blood pressure monitor or if you prefer other places to get it checked are;
Your GP
Private clinics, just like Health Klinix
Pharmacists
What's a healthy blood pressure reading?
Although there isn't an average blood pressure reading for everyone, a normal blood pressure usually lies between 90/ 60 mmHg and 120/ 80 mmHg.
How to Maintain a Healthy Blood Pressure
If you have high blood pressure, it can lead to serious long term health conditions, so the most important first step is to get your blood pressure checked. If you do have high blood pressure it can be picked up early before it can cause any significant damage to your body organs.
Once you know, the good news is that you can take steps towards a healthier lifestyle which will often reduce your blood pressure.
Diet
We all live in a world full of processed foods like crisps, packaged meats, ready meals and breakfast cereals all containing more salt than we should be consuming. The problem is that salt is a big culprit for raising your blood pressure. The UK government recommend no more than 6 grams in total per day, that's about one level teaspoon and this includes all the salt that's included in the processed foods that you eat.
So you should try and reduce your salt intake, and the best way to do this is to do it gradually so that you hardly notice the difference in taste. You should also reduce the amount of saturated fats, processed foods and sugar you eat as this can lead to weight gain and raise your cholesterol levels. This can have a knock-on effect and raise your blood pressure as well as increase your risk of other conditions like diabetes.
Exercise
Regular exercise has been shown to reduce your blood pressure. Ideally you should do high intensity interval training (HIIT) for at least 40 minutes a day three times a week.
Examples include:
Cycling
Running
Skipping
Rowing
Swimming
If all of these are too energetic then simply walking around your local neighbourhood, climbing the stairs, catching the bus instead of driving or even standing at your desk will all help too.
Alcohol
Alcohol can also raise your blood pressure. If you drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week (equivalent of 6 pints of 4% beer or 6 glasses of a medium sized glass of wine) then you need to cut down but you don't need to stop completely. There are lots of useful ways you can do this and sometimes it's best to do a little at a time. Here are some useful tips.
Smoking
As well as causing atherosclerosis, a condition where your arteries are clogged up with fatty material, smoking is a big cause of high blood pressure. By stopping smoking, you'll not only reduce your blood pressure but there will be multiple other health benefits such as reducing the risk of cancer, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.
Stress
This can be a big one. In our busy and hurried world, we can all get stressed occasionally. When stress is persistent this can lead to anxiety and there can many causes such as:
Bereavement
Loss of a job
Financial hardship
Difficult relationships with the family
Major life events such as moving home
Loneliness
Ill health
Stress and anxiety can lead to high blood pressure by increasing your ‘flight’ of ‘fight’ hormones such as adrenaline. This directly increases your blood pressure, but only lasts for a short while. Continual stress and anxiety can lead to bad habits such as binge eating, smoking and drinking excessive alcohol, all of which can lead to high blood pressure and other ill health.
So what can I do to cope with stress?
In our modern day fast-paced lives, we can't always change everything in our environment.
First, think and decide what you can change, and the things that you can't. For those life events and circumstances that you can't change, there are lots of things that you can do to try and limit their effects and help you cope better. Try the following:
Yoga
Meditation
Start new relaxing hobbies like knitting, crochet or painting
Chat with friends and family, spend time in open green spaces there's good evidence that this can lift your mood and reduce your anxiety levels
If you simply get overwhelmed, try to make daily lists to help you organise your thoughts and get through the tasks for the day
Get quality sleep
Sleep
Experts recommend that you should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Getting 6 hours or less is bad for your health and increases the risk of heart disease, strokes and can of course - you’ve guessed it - raise your blood pressure. Sleep appears to regulate hormones that are needed to control stress and metabolism and so not getting enough sleep disrupts this and can cause hormonal imbalances leading to high blood pressure.
Another important cause of high blood pressure is obstructive sleep apnoea. This occurs when your airways are obstructed during sleep, leading to periods of laboured breathing and even short spells when you stop breathing altogether. Your sleep is consequently light and disturbed. People who are overweight and snore are at risk of obstructive sleep apnoea. If you think you might be affected, speak to your family doctor.
Medication
Finally, your blood pressure can be controlled by medications but this should only be a last resort after all of your lifestyle changes have not been effective. You can discuss the various options for medications with your GP.
Know Your Numbers Week! Activities and Events Around the UK:
Pressure Stations: Free blood pressure monitoring stations will be set up in convenient locations such as pharmacies, workplaces, gyms, and community centres.
Online Resources: Blood Pressure UK will provide digital tools, resources, and guides on how to monitor blood pressure at home, understand readings, and adopt healthy habits.
Workshops and Webinars: Educational workshops and webinars led by healthcare professionals will cover topics such as hypertension management, healthy eating, and the importance of regular exercise.
Conclusion
"Know Your Numbers! Week 2024" is a great public health initiative that drives proactive health management and reduces the prevalence of hypertension across the UK. By participating in this campaign, individuals can take a significant step towards a healthier future and drive awareness to support others.
Remember the most important thing is to know your blood pressure. By knowing, you can do something about it! At Health Klinix, we can do an accurate blood pressure check for you and at the same time offer meaningful lifestyle advice.
References:
Written and Approved by:
Dr Ravi Gowda, Consultant Physician, MBBS, MRCP(UK), MRCGP, DTM&H, DCH, DRCOG, DFFP
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