High blood pressure is easy to diagnose, generally straightforward to treat, and we have blood pressure machines in all our waiting rooms which our patients are free to use at any time we are open.
Just pop in and ask to use the machine, follow the instructions, hand your reading printouts to our receptionist, where you will be asked to fill in a form giving some information about yourself. We will do the rest and once all your information is checked and entered into your medical record, we will send you a text and next steps (if any) needed.
Occasionally we may ask you to wait so one of our nursing staff can retake your blood pressure and alert one of our doctors if they are concerned about the reading.
If you don’t want to or can’t attend the surgery, we recommend taking some home readings and submitting them to us. You can buy blood pressure machines for as little as £20 or borrow one from a friend or relative. We also have a small supply of machines we can loan – but please bring them back as soon as you have completed your week of measurements.
We recommend the machines with an upper arm cuff. If you are a larger patient, you will also need a larger cuff to ensure the reading is accurate.
To take your blood pressure ensure you are sitting and relaxed and take 2 readings each time, record the lower number, repeat morning and evening for a week and then submit the numbers via eConsult or drop them in to the surgery.
Blood pressure measurement is part of our regular checks for the following conditions:
- Coronary Heart Disease
- Kidney disease
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Stroke or TIA
- Some mental health problems
We also recommend measuring your blood pressure if:
- You are aged 45 or over
- On medication that can affect blood pressure (we will contact you with a request for readings if necessary)
- We have started or made a change to your blood pressure medication or dose, to make sure it is having the desired effect.
Plus, if you are aged between 40 and 74 you can book a free NHS health check where we will check blood tests as well and give you advice on a healthy lifestyle and your personal risk of heart disease or circulatory problems.
Of course, you don’t need to wait to be asked by us, or have a condition that needs blood pressure checks, you can just drop in at your convenience to check your blood pressure. It really is worth the small investment of your time to know your blood pressure number.