Know your numbers blood pressure check

This week we ran a Know your numbers free blood pressure station at Southern Cross Train station in Melbourne, for National Stroke Week.

We received this email from Linda and we wanted to share with you all.

I want to thank you, on Monday you had a free Blood Pressure check at Southern Cross Station, I thought why not check. To my disbelief the reading was 169/106 I was floored and thought no way I have always been 110/70 low. Two days later I wanted to prove you wrong so I went to my GP for a further reading, he said Linda you BP is 170/88 needless to say I was given medication for three weeks with a chage of habit ie diet & fitness. I wanted to say that Angels  made me take your test and get a wake up call and possibility that you have saved my valuable life. Keep up spreading the word as I did when I went back to work, thanking you Linda.

Find your closest location for a free blood pressure check.

Note: the image provided is not of Linda, but is taken at Southern Cross Station on the day.

A free diabetes risk check available in selected pharmacies in Queensland will help tackle the fastest-growing chronic disease in Australia – type 2 diabetes, according to National Stroke Foundation CEO Erin Lalor.

As Queensland Health Minister Geoff Wilson today announced an extension of the highly successful Know your numbers campaign to include type 2 diabetes risk assessments in 119 pharmacies, Dr Lalor said the program aimed to offer these checks to 10,000 Queenslanders in 2011.

“The Know your numbers program began in Queensland in 2008 and has so far provided over 60,000 blood pressure checks for Queenslanders,” Dr Lalor said.

“The newly expanded Know your numbers campaign will build on this success – through this pilot program many thousands of type 2 diabetes risk assessments will be offered in selected participating pharmacies across Queensland.”

High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are both significant risk factors for stroke, the nation’s second biggest cause of death and a leading cause of disability.

Dr Erin Lalor said she was pleased to be working with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and Diabetes Australia – Queensland to include the diabetes checks in the successful Know your numbers campaign.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland Branch) Director Robyn Ede said community pharmacies were an ideal setting to reach health consumers and identify those at risk of diabetes.
“Around 80,000 Queenslanders visit a pharmacy each day and turn to their local pharmacist for information on treatment of minor illnesses,” Ms Ede said.

Diabetes Queensland – Australia CEO Michelle Trute said it was estimated those who develop diabetes will have the condition for four to seven years before being diagnosed.

“This can allow irreversible damage to occur and can set people up for serious complications like cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, blindness and limb amputations,” Ms Trute said.

The Queensland Government last year announced $600,000 to support the expansion of the Know your numbers blood pressure awareness program to include checks for type 2 diabetes.

Dr Lalor encouraged all residents to visit their local pharmacy for the diabetes and stroke risk assessment.

“Those people who are assessed as high-risk will be referred to their general practitioner for assessment and diagnosis,” she said.

The number of people with type 2 diabetes has more than doubled in 15 years with 300,000 Queenslanders now living with the condition and 19,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

For more information and checking station locations visit: www.strokefoundation.com.au

Know your numbers Diabetes Enhancement Pilot Program is supported by The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland branch), Diabetes Australia - Queensland and by Queensland Health as part of the State Government’s Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland commitment to make Queenslanders Australia’s healthiest people by 2020.

It’s that time of year again and the Know your numbers program has kicked off in Qld, Vic and NSW.

This year we expect to have over 650 pressure stations aiming to check the blood pressure of up to 65,000 people!

We celebrated in our office today with a healthy morning tea and a short presentation by Belinda of how the program keeps growing each year.

Stay tuned for updates and hopefully some photos of the pressure stations in action.

They say we’re living in the information age, where the potential to know details about almost anything is virtually at our fingertips. But what about the important information that we sometimes forget to track? Everyday important functions of our body that we rely on, but can take for granted. I am referring of course to blood pressure.

The scary fact is that one in three Australians over the age of 25 has high blood pressure. It could easily be you. Are you aware of it? If not, you certainly should be. It is the most important risk factor for having a stroke, and stroke is the country’s second biggest killer and a leading cause of disability. The National Stroke Foundation has a solution to help you track your blood pressure numbers. Every time you have your blood pressure measured at your pharmacy or GP you simply enter your blood pressure reading onto the BP Tracker site.

Through monitoring it with this easy online tool, you will be able to realise if the numbers are gradually getting higher so that you can take action and help to reduce your risk of a stroke.  Now why would you let the most important information slip through the nets of the information age? Make sure you register and start BP Tracking today!

Well I promised that I would post some photos of the pressure stations, and I keep my promises. 

Greythorn Amcal promotes their pressure station

Have a look at the photo album here.

Well our Know your numbers program has kicked off in Qld and Vic. This year we expect to have over 500 pressure stations aiming to check the blood pressure of at least 100 people each.

We celebrated in our office yesterday with a healthy morning tea and a short presentation by Ros of how the program has grown over the last two years.

Stay tuned for updates and hopefully some photos of the pressure stations in action.