Free Blood Pressure Check in Newport

At Your Community Pharmacy, free blood pressure checks are available whenever we are open, with no appointment and no referral. The pharmacist takes the reading in store, explains what the two figures mean and talks through anything that looks out of range. If a result needs follow-up, you leave knowing whether to see your GP and what to tell them.

Hypertension

High blood pressure has virtually no symptoms. This makes it more important than ever that you are checking your blood pressure regularly.

High blood pressure occurs when blood presses on the walls of your arteries as it is pumped around your body, with constant high levels leading to various diseases.

Blood pressure that is high over a long time is one of the main risk factors for heart disease and uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack or stroke. The medical name for high blood pressure over a long period of time is hypertension. Learn more about Hypertension from the World Health Organisation.

Causes of Hypertension

The exact causes of hypertension are often not clear and may be affected by factors such as those listed below. It is recommended that a blood pressure test is done to rule out any concerns.

• family history
• diet, including eating too much salt
• alcohol intake
• weight
• your level of physical activity

Health Tips

• Hold back on caffeine and alcohol
• Exercise regularly
• Hold back on saturated fats and salt
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Eat healthy food
• Take a break you deserve it

What happens at your free blood pressure check

The check fits easily into a trip to the shops. There is nothing to prepare and no form to fill in beforehand.

1. Come in any time the pharmacy is open and ask at the counter.
2. Mention any blood pressure medicines or other tablets you take.
3. The pharmacist measures your blood pressure in store.
4. You go through the result together and agree on what, if anything, to do next.

Coming back every few months shows how your numbers change over time, and keeping a note of each result gives your GP a useful record at your next visit.

Your blood pressure evaluation: reading the two numbers

A reading is written as two figures, one over the other. The top one, systolic pressure, is the pressure in your arteries as the heart pumps. The bottom one, diastolic pressure, is the pressure while the heart relaxes between beats.

According to Healthdirect, blood pressure is considered high, known as hypertension, when readings are consistently above 140/90mmHg, and about 1 in 3 Australian adults has high blood pressure. The word "consistently" matters. Blood pressure moves up and down through the day, so a single raised number is a reason to recheck rather than a diagnosis. Your GP confirms high blood pressure over repeated readings.

Why regular checks matter

The Heart Foundation advises everyone aged 18 and over to have their blood pressure checked at least every two years, and our article on how often to check goes into more detail. Untreated, high blood pressure is the single biggest risk factor for stroke, which our stroke risk assessment looks at closely.

Regular readings between GP visits are a simple way to keep watch, particularly if heart disease runs in your family, you have been told your numbers are borderline, or you have recently started a new medicine.

Everyday habits that affect blood pressure

Lifestyle changes make a real difference to most readings. The Heart Foundation and Healthdirect both point to the same basics:

• eating more vegetables, fruit and whole grains
• moving for about 30 minutes on most days
• not smoking

If weight is part of the picture, our weight management support is a practical next step. High blood pressure and high blood glucose often show up in the same person, so it can make sense to pair this check with diabetes monitoring. You can see every free check we run on the health services page.

This check is one of our preventive and monitoring services, alongside the stroke risk assessment and medication review.

Common questions

Pop in for a quick, easy and free blood pressure evaluation.