• High blood pressure is number one contributing risk factor for global death

• Cause of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications

• Blood pressure screening on offer in Coventry

• Campaign backed by leading University of Warwick medical expert

People are being urged to take up the offer of blood pressure screening in Coventry and Warwick.

A national campaign called May Measurement Month 2018 (MMM18) is targeting the area to encourage people to have their blood pressure checked. Worldwide 10 million lives are lost each year due to high blood pressure or hypertension. However only half of people with the condition know they have it.

To raise awareness of the problem the International Society of Hypertension (ISH), supported in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by the British & Irish Hypertension Society (BIHS) has organised free screening sessions.

Sessions are taking place in Coventry at the University of Warwick Students’ Union, CV4 7AL on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 May between 9am and 4pm. There are also sessions taking place at Warwick Boat Club on Saturday 12 May and Saturday 19 May between 9am and 5pm.

Globally, only 46.5% of people who have hypertension actually know they have it, despite the fact that detection is very simple. Screening is very cheap and takes only a few minutes to measure someone’s pressure which if raised can be easily treated.

Professor Francesco Cappuccio, Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Warwick, President of the BIHS and national coordinator of MMM18 said: “Around 10 million people die each year due to conditions related to high BP – such as heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure - but unless hypertension is detected we cannot treat it to prevent these conditions”.

In 2017 May Measurement Month measured the BP of over 1.2 million people across 100 countries in one month - with limited resources, relying on the goodwill of its many volunteers. During the month, the screenings identified over 140,000 people with previously unidentified hypertension and over 100,000 with inadequately treated hypertension, all of whom can now take action to improve their health.

A key objective of MMM is, not only to increase public awareness, but also to collect the evidence needed to help influence global health policy and make BP screening more widely available around the world. Professor Neil Poulter, ISH President stated: “We want May Measurement Month to help turn 46% awareness to 96%. When we reach that level, we can stop”.

To find out where your nearest MMM screening site is or if you are interested in volunteering visit www.checkyourpressure.co.uk

4 May 2018

For more information, contact Nicola Jones, Media Relations Manager, University of Warwick 07920531221 or N.Jones.1@warwick.ac.uk