19 April 2009 – Immediate
More than five lives could have been saved following the Rotary Club of Canterbury’s campaign to reduce the number deaths from a stroke.
Last Saturday, the Rotary Club of Canterbury – in partnership with The Stroke Association – undertook its annual exercise to encourage local people to get their blood-pressure checked-out as raised blood-pressure (hypertension) is identified as being the main cause of the majority of strokes. A simple blood pressure check taking just a few seconds can immediately highlight a problem which can, literally, mean the difference between life and death.
Boots the Chemist in the Whitefriars was the venue for Saturday’s blood pressure checks undertaken by six volunteer nurses from the Chaucer Hospital. Two doctors were also in attendance. Two-hundred-and-eighty-eight (288) people took advantage of the free check-up and of that number 60 showed raise blood pressure levels and were advised to seek further advice from their GPs. A further 5 people showed dangerously high blood pressure levels and were urged to seek immediate medical advice.
Commenting on the free check-up, Dr David Barton, the President of the Rotary Club of Canterbury, himself a GP said: “Stroke is a silent killer, often occurring with little or no warning. All the evidence points to the main culprit being raised blood pressure. Today we identified 65 people with abnormally high blood pressure – and of that number, five have a seriously high level.” He added: “If we have extended the lives of these people through the free blood pressure checks, the effort will have been worth it.”
The Lord Mayor of Canterbury, Councillor Carolyn Parry got the day underway by taking advantage of a free blood pressure check for herself and her family.
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The Lord Mayor gets her blood pressure checked. |
The President of the Rotary Club of Canterbury, Dr David Barton, gets his blood pressure checked. |
