Visitors to the STAR Hub in Splott have the opportunity to find out their blood pressure for free this week as part of an awareness campaign called Know Your Numbers.
More than 1 in 4 adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many will not realise it. The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked.
Blood pressure is important because the higher your blood pressure is, the higher your risk of health problems in the future. If you have high blood pressure, it could be putting extra strain on your arteries and on your heart, so it’s important to know your own blood pressure and seek advice if it’s high.
As part of the Living in Well in Wales campaign, Welsh Libraries are working with Blood Pressure UK, the country’s leading charity providing information and support to people with high blood pressure, to encourage people to know their blood pressure numbers and take the necessary action to reach and maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Know your Numbers! Week (September 9 – 15) is the UK’s biggest blood pressure testing event and awareness week and is one of four health and wellbeing events that form part of the Living Well in Wales campaign, which seeks to bring together public libraries and partner organisations to promote the nation’s wellbeing.
Cardiff Libraries and Hubs supported Dementia Action Week during May and will also be backing the British Dyslexia Association’s National Dyslexia Week in October and Do Something Different Day in January.
During Know your Numbers Week, libraries across Wales will host ‘pressure stations’ offering free blood pressure checks to library users and members of the public.The stations are run by trained staff who will take a blood pressure reading, record it on a post card for each individual and provide a referral letter for a person’s GP if necessary.
In Cardiff, pressure stations will be located in:
- Penylan Library and Community Centre (Monday 9am -1pm)
- STAR Hub (Tuesday 2.30pm – 4pm; Wednesday 9am – 11am; Thursday 10am – 12pm; Friday 10am – 12pm)
- Ely and Caerau Hub (Friday 12.30pm)
- St Mellons Hub (Monday 9.30am -11.30am & 1.30pm – 3.30pm)
- Central Library Hub (Wednesday 10am – 12pm, Thursday 1pm – 3pm), where visitors will be welcome to have their blood pressure measurement taken.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said:
“There is a strong emphasis on the health and wellbeing agenda in services delivered by Cardiff Libraries and Hubs and so we’re happy to be supporting Blood Pressure UK’s Know Your Numbers Week.
“We’re encouraging people using our hubs and libraries that are hosting pressure stations during the week to take the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked and recorded. High blood pressure increases the risk of having a stroke or heart attack and is also a risk factor for kidney disease, dementia and other illnesses so we hope that highlighting the importance of knowing your numbers will prompt people to have regular checks and make any changes needed to lower their risk of blood pressure problems.”
Hemini Bharadia, Campaign Manager forKnow Your Numbers Week,said:
“High blood pressure does not discriminate on age or gender -people are dying unnecessarily because they fail to take such simple steps to reduce their blood pressure.
“Know Your Numbers Week is the perfect opportunity to have your blood pressure taken for free and put you in control of your health, so we are pleased to have Welsh Libraries on board as Pressure Stations where you can go to have your blood pressure checked. They will play a huge role in helping advise customers about blood pressure and getting tested. We therefore hope the public will support them and Know Your Numbers by getting their blood pressure checked at a library near them.”
For more information about Know Your Numbers! Week visit www.bloodpressureuk.org/kyn
For more information on high blood pressure, known as Hypertension, visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/