Understand your blood pressure
Introduction
Blood pressure has become an increasingly prevalent issue in modern healthcare, with an ageing population, inactivity, and poor dietary choices causing cases to spike over the decades. Here at Amiry & Gilbride Pharmacy, we’re helping raise awareness for our customers on blood pressure and how they can maintain healthy blood pressure levels for a healthier life.
What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is simply how much pressure is applied to the inner walls of your blood vessels when blood is passing through them. This pressure level naturally varies depending on your health, exertion, or just the regular phases of your heart’s contractions. Monitoring your blood pressure allows medical professionals to diagnose or assess health problems early, with high blood pressure most commonly indicating cardiovascular-related diseases. By finding these problems early on, our teams can help you make the right lifestyle changes and prevent the issues from worsening.
How is my blood pressure measured?
Blood pressure tests can be done by medical professionals or self-administered through a painless, non-invasive procedure – though we’d recommend starting with a professional service to familiarise you with the machine and explain your results. For the test, an inflatable cuff with a pressure gauge is wrapped around the upper arm. As this cuff expands, readings for your heart rate and blood pressure will be recorded.
These measurements are presented on a screen as two numbers, consisting of systolic (or beating) pressure over diastolic (or resting) pressure. The units for this reading are expressed in mmHg, meaning millimetres of mercury, with average readings falling around 120/80.
What are the effects of high and low blood pressure?
Hypotension is the medical term describing low blood pressure, which is usually no cause for alarm in otherwise healthy patients. For elderly people, however, hypotension can indicate inadequate blood flow, which may lead to dizziness, nausea, and fainting. Sudden drops in blood pressure are dangerous at all ages, and should not be ignored. Hypotension averages around 90/60.
Hypertension, the medical term for high blood pressure, is the more serious pressure variant, affecting around one third of the UK population. There are an estimated 7 million undiagnosed cases in the UK. Untreated hypertension can lead to kidney failure, strokes and heart attacks, which is why it’s so important to get a diagnosis.
At Amiry & Gilbride Pharmacy, our mission is to provide FREE support through our blood pressure measuring service, and stocking a comprehensive range of blood pressure machines and equipment to support your health and allow you to remain fit and active.
Could I be at risk of high blood pressure?
People most at risk of hypertension:
- drink/smoke heavily
- are overweight
- have an unbalanced/high-salt diet
- don’t exercise
- have a history of hypertension in the family or are elderly.
How can Amiry & Gilbride Pharmacy help me manage my high blood pressure?
If you have concerns regarding hypertension, we are here to help. You can contact your local Amiry & Gilbride Pharmacy, and our pharmacists will provide a range of services to treat your condition. Some of the ways we can help include:
Free BP Service: Whether you’re a new patient or you’re returning for a check-up, our pharmacists and their teams are available daily to give you a free test and inform you on your wellbeing. Our blood pressure service allows us to catch anything concerning early on, so we can begin advising treatments and lifestyle changes straight away.
Health Checks: As well as blood pressure tests, our teams can also complete check-ups for diabetes and cholesterol levels, providing tailored reports and advice to improve your health and wellbeing.
Nutritional Advice: We can also provide free advice on dietary changes and exercise routines to help you reduce your blood pressure in your daily life, pointing you towards effective yet enjoyable switches that you can make in your diet and exercise habits.
Supplemental & Medicinal Advice: Alongside lifestyle changes, our pharmacists will provide free medication reviews to ensure your doses and timings are correct. We also give advice on medications and supplements that you’ve been recommended or want to try, detailing any side-effects you may experience.
Smoking Cessation: We understand how difficult it can be to break smoking addictions, which is why we offer a FREE service to provide you with nicotine replacement products and medications, helping you conquer your cravings for good.
Blood Pressure Machines: For some patients, it’s not feasible to travel to the pharmacy all the time for check-ups. To help, we’ve started stocking blood pressure machines that allow you to check your blood pressure without leaving the comfort of home. Our medical professionals will provide all the advice you need on how to operate these machines, and let you know when you need to come back to see us.
You can visit your local Amiry & Gilbride Pharmacy to learn more, or visit our pharmacists in store to get your blood pressure checked for free.
Service details
Price: Free service
Frequency: When required…
Additional Information: Page one / Page two
