High Blood Pressure Everyone has a blood pressure. any of the following: a family history of high Blood pressure can go up and down during the blood pressure, are over weight, take the day depending on how busy or worried you oral contraceptive pill, have raised blood are, or if you do physical activity like exercise. cholesterol, have diabetes or are a smoker. People have high blood pressure when their blood pressure stays higher than is needed. High blood pressure is very common. Many people are unaware that they have high blood pressure, as there are often no symptoms until it causes damage. It is essential to treat high blood pressure before there are any symptoms and you feel unwell. Regular blood pressure checks are important both to detect raised blood pressure and to monitor the results of treatment. High blood pressure can lead to a stroke or a heart attack. Heart failure can also result from continued high blood pressure (the heart has to work harder to keep the blood circulating). The heart also becomes larger, exhausted and then fails. High blood pressure is also responsible for kidney and eye damage. High blood pressure must be controlled. This may just mean a change to a healthy lifestyle and for others medication is required Come in ask for a High Blood Pressure self care card, to get your blood pressure checked or visit www.heartfoundation.org.nz for more information. Carole Baxter Have your blood pressure checked as part of a heart assessment if you are over 40 years old. This is particularly important if you have Unichem 51 George Street, Tuakau To Ph 236-8014 Your local health professional