At our Practice we are constantly looking at preventative healthcare and how we can work with you to recognise early symptoms of serious conditions in order to start treatment and prevent worsening. This could be through medication, surgery or simple lifestyle changes.
Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on Hypertension, otherwise know as high blood pressure, in men between the ages of 45 to 55. Statistics have shown that this group are at a higher risk of this condition. Therefore, monitoring blood pressure each year in these patients can improve the chance of recognising the early signs, enabling a treatment plan to be put in place and reducing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke.
If you receive (or have already received) a text message from the practice asking you to submit a blood pressure reading, we actively encourage you to complete this as soon as convenient. If you have your own monitor, you can submit through the link on your text. Otherwise you can go to your nearest pharmacy that provides Blood Pressure checks and they will take a reading from you and submit it to the practice.
What Next
If your reading is deemed within normal range, you will receive a message from us thanking you for your submission and advising you that you have nothing further required for a year. We recommend that these readings are completed and submitted annually.
If your reading is between 141/91 mmHg and 179/110 mmHg, you will be asked to complete a 7-day monitoring process. This will mean that you will need to take daily readings over a 7-day period and submit these to the practice. This can done through your own blood pressure machine, a Pharmacy that provides blood pressure checks or you can contact the practice to discuss the loan of a monitor. Please note that these monitors are limited and have a strict loan duration in order for as many patients to have access to this service.
If your reading is above 179/110 mmHg you will be required to attend the practice in order to discuss a treatment plan with one of our clinical team.
Your health is at the forefront of this programme, and we strongly advise, should you receive the invite, that you participate. If you have any concerns or questions that you wish to discuss further then please contact the surgery via our website “E-Consult” option.
In addition, we have a number of suggested articles that may help give you a better understanding of Hypertension and related conditions. The links for these are below:
British Heart Foundation – High Blood Pressure