NHS and Public Health professionals are encouraging people aged 40 plus to check their blood pressure.

It’s part of a week-long national ‘Know Your Numbers’ campaign, beginning Monday, September 2, to raise awareness of high blood pressure.

Known as ‘the silent killer’, high blood pressure is a major cause of heart attack and stroke, but often has no symptoms.

Knowing your blood pressure – ‘Knowing Your Numbers’ – means that you can start making healthy lifestyle changes or start taking medicines if you need them to bring your blood pressure down to a healthy level.

Many local pharmacies across Devon are now offering free blood pressure checks.

Dr Michael Marsh, Regional Medical Director for NHS England South West, said: “You could think of high blood pressure in your blood vessels like the water pressure in a garden hose – when the water flows through the hose normally everything is fine.

“But if you put your finger on the end and block the flow, the pressure builds and you may get leaks from the hose. When you have high blood pressure this can have a detrimental impact on your organs and puts you at risk of a heart attack or stroke.

“Left undetected and untreated high blood pressure becomes a silent killer, because it rarely has symptoms. The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get it checked.”

A number of outreach sessions are planned, running throughout the Know Your Numbers week and later in September, to encourage people over the age of 40 to find out their blood pressure, and to receive advice about how to manage high blood pressure.

Local sessions this week: