By YASEMIN TALAT
Residents are being urged to head down to a local participating pharmacy and have a free stroke and heart risk check.
The National Stroke Foundation’s ‘Know your numbers’ prevention program aims to increase individual awareness and detection of stroke and heart disease risks.
Know your numbers health check stations offer free blood pressure checks and diabetes risk assessments.
One of the participating pharmacies is Quality Pharmacy in Werribee Plaza and Werribee Medical.
Quality Pharmacy Pharmacist Development Manager, Rachel Walker, said staff members encourage all their clients to get their blood pressure measured.
“It’s important people understand and know what blood pressure is and what it means,” Ms Walker said.
“And it’s important they know what the normal range is and what activities and stresses will put their numbers above normal.”
Quality Pharmacy has been running the program for approximately six years and has conducted more than one hundred tests per week according to Ms Walker.
Through the program pharmacists have also been able to refer patients to a doctor on the onset of a heart attack.
Ms Walker said the program was definitely helping save lives.
The National Stroke Foundation state that around 64 per cent of Australians have three or more risk factors for stroke, and high blood pressure is the single biggest preventable risk factor.
National Stroke Foundation CEO Dr Erin Lalor urged residents to take five minutes out of their day and get their numbers checked.
“High blood pressure is often called the silent killer because there may be no symptoms,” Dr Lalor said.
“Nearly four million Australians over 25 have high blood pressure but many do not know their blood pressure numbers”.
For more information and health check station locations visit: www.strokefoundation.com.au.
