Heart attack warning: "silent killer"
According to a senior specialist pharmacist, individuals who fail to have their blood pressure monitored may be
endangering their lives.It follows the announcement of the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) that more than 25,000 people in Hull and East Yorkshire suffer from undiagnosed hypertension, or high blood pressure.
According to Jaya Authunuri, supervisor pharmacist at Westhill Pharmacy in Bridlington, high blood pressure is a "silent killer" and the significance of checks needs to be better explained.
"When there is a service available, why aren't the patients utilising it?" asked the doctor.
Anyone over 40 who is taking blood pressure medication or has not been diagnosed with hypertension can use them.
He previously funded a self-check health kiosk at Morrisons in Bridlington, and now he also does community blood pressure tests in a room there.
"A great deal of publicity" was not "reaching the maximum capacity" in terms of uptake, according to Mr. Authunuri.
Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other health issues can result from untreated high blood pressure.
"I believe that the main obstacle is that patients are not consistently informed about the significance of blood pressure.
"We as healthcare professionals are so busy trying to dispense medication that we don't have enough time and funding to get this message to the patients," said Authunuri.
People were recommended by NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB to request a free blood pressure check at their neighborhood pharmacy.
Additionally, East Riding library patrons can schedule an appointment or check out blood pressure monitors for free for a maximum of two weeks.
You can reserve these through the libraries in Beverley, Bridlington Central, North Bridlington, Goole, and Withernsea.
According to Mr. Authunuri, "We need to encourage patients to take charge of their health instead of waiting for them to change over time.
"High blood hypertension and cholesterol levels are undetectable killers once they are really, really high."
