What is Blood Pressure?
Blood Pressure is a measurement of the force that is applied to the walls of your arteries as the heart pumps blood through your body.
What is High blood pressure?
Or otherwise known as hypertension. This means that your blood pressure is higher over a period of time than what it should be.
Sign and symptoms of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure itself usually has no symptoms. You actually can have high blood pressure for years and not even realise.
What causes high blood pressure?
The cause is not always known but we do know that the following can make it worse or may even cause it
- No physical ac tivity
- Being overweight
- Eating too much salt
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Not eating enough fruit and vegetables
- A family history of high blood pressure.
What are the problems with high blood pressure?
The main problem with high blood pressure is that it generally can make your heart work too hard and make the walls of the arteries hard. This can increase your chance of getting heart disease and/or kidney disease, and of having a stroke.
So it is important that you keep a check on your blood pressure.
What can you do and how can we help?
You can find out if you have high blood pressure by checking your blood pressure regularly. Thackers pharmacy can help you as we offer a free blood pressure check on a monthly basis
How do I go about getting my blood pressure checked at thackers pharmacy?
All you need to do is ring and book an appointment or just simply drop in and we can do it there and then for you. Please ask for assistance when you come to the pharmacy or email us at
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Before the blood pressure test you should..
Not drink coffee or smoke cigarettes for 30 minutes prior to the test. These actions may cause a short-term rise in your blood pressure.
Go to the bathroom before the test. Having a full bladder can change your blood pressure reading.
Sit for 5 minutes before the test. Movement can cause short-term rises in blood pressure.
Preferably come first thing in the morning for a more accurate reading. The stresses and strains of a normal day can affect blood pressure.
If you do have high blood pressure?
Do not worry. We are here to advise you on what to do next.