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Rotary team up with Stroke Association to apply the pressure

Rotary team up with Stroke Association to apply the pressure

Rotary will this year again be supporting the Stroke Association as clubs from around Great Britain and Ireland come together on Saturday 18th of April to celebrate Know Your Blood Pressure Day. For the twelfth consecutive year, Rotarians will team up with Stroke Association representatives to host life-saving blood pressure testing events in their local communities. Members of the […]

Rotary will this year again be supporting the Stroke Association as clubs from around Great Britain and Ireland come together on Saturday 18th of April to celebrate Know Your Blood Pressure Day.

For the twelfth consecutive year, Rotarians will team up with Stroke Association representatives to host life-saving blood pressure testing events in their local communities. Members of the public will be able to head down to a number of local venues and have their blood pressure checked free of charge, in an attempt to raise awareness of the link between high blood pressure and strokes.

Figures show that there are an estimated 16 million people living in the UK with high blood pressure, however as many as five million of these remain untreated. With approximately over 50% of strokes caused by high blood pressure, this is an alarming statistic and one that both Rotary and The Stroke Association are fighting to change.

Last year saw over 400 Rotary clubs take part in the initiative where 40,000 people were checked, approximately one seventh of whom were found to have high blood pressure. Last year, Rotary was also honoured with a special recognition award for their continued efforts in working with Stroke Association on its Know Your Blood Pressure campaign.

Mukesh Malhotra, Community Chair of Rotary Great Britain and Ireland, comments, “As a ‘Survivor’, I know how important it is to take measures to prevent an attack. Having your blood pressure checked is a very simple step to reduce your chances of being affected and it is great that Rotary can continue to work with the Stroke Association to raise awareness of how valuable this one simple check can be.”

For more detail on Know Your Blood Pressure Day 2015, click here.

For Rotary clubs looking to take part in this year’s Know Your Blood Pressure Day, log on to the members page here to get all the information you need to organise your event.

 

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