Local pharmacy Blooms The Chemist is encouraging locals to roll up their sleeves for a blood pressure test this week, ahead of World Hypertension Day on Tuesday 17 May.
Recent estimates from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows one in three people over the age of 18 have hypertension, or high blood pressure, which puts extra stress on blood vessel walls and can lead to a number of health complications.
Andrew Leslie, from Blooms The Chemist in Narre Warren said high blood pressure is an epidemic and is often referred to as a “silent killer.”
“Hypertension can often have no symptoms. Sometimes people have come into our pharmacy to have their blood pressure tested and shown a systolic reading of up to 200 mmHg without even knowing it,” he said.
A healthy reading is considered systolic pressure of less than 140 mmHg and a diastolic pressure of less than 90 mmHg.
“High blood pressure may be an indicator of other underlying health concerns and may lead to heart attacks, stroke and cardiovascular disease,” Mr Leslie said.
“Other potential side effects include eye damage, kidney damage, erectile dysfunction, and memory loss.”
Recent studies also suggest patients with hypertension are at risk for greater severity of Covid-19.
This year the theme of World Hypertension is Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer, with a focus on combatting low awareness rates among
the general public.
Major contributors to high blood pressure include poor diet (especially high salt intake), being overweight, excessive alcohol consumption and insufficient physical activity.
“With World Hypertension Day coming up this month, we encourage Australians of all ages to pop into a Blooms The Chemist today to get a blood pressure check, or visit their local GP,” Mr Leslie said.
