12 members of the Horbury and Ossett Phoenix Rotary Club led by club Members Dr David Maynard, Dr Jim Donnan, Dr John Lynagh and Dentist Dai Gifford carried out instant free blood pressure checks for shoppers in Horbury Town Centre on Saturday 18th April, as their contribution to the Stroke Associations, 'Stroke Prevention Week'.
High blood pressure is one of the main causes of strokes. Strokes are known as the silent killer and are one of the major causes of sudden premature death in the UK. Strokes are preventable by a combination of proper health monitoring, healthy lifestyles and in some cases by treatment with prescription medicines.
80 people were tested in Horbury on Saturday and 25% were referred to their GPs for further monitoring because of raised levels of blood pressure. Dr Jim Donnan said, "An initial high reading does not necessarily indicate a serious risk or problem and may be caused by particular circumstances at the time of the test - often subsequent readings return to normal levels, however past experience through this campaign has shown that 10% of those people referred back to their GPs have required on going preventive monitoring and care."
The Rotary Club expressed their thanks to Willings' Horbury Dental Care for allowing the Rotary Caravan to be parked on their car park during the testing sessions. Horbury Dental Care Website