Blood Pressure Association
The Blood Pressure Association is the UK-wide charity dedicated to lowering the nation's blood pressure. We aim to prevent unnecessary death and disability from heart disease, heart attacks and stroke caused by high blood pressure.
Know your numbers
Know your Numbers!® is the Blood Pressure Association's flagship awareness campaign which encourages adults across the UK to know their blood pressure numbers and take the necessary action to reach and maintain a health blood pressure.
The highlight of the campaign is Know your Numbers! (KYN) Week, the nation's largest annual blood pressure testing and awareness event. During KYN Week, which takes place I the second week of September, the Blood Pressure Association works with a range of health professionals to offer free blood pressure checks at thousands of Pressure Stations across the UK. Launched in 2001, Know your Numbers! Week aims to:
• Improve awareness about high blood pressure, its prevention, detection and management
• Increase knowledge about the causes and consequences of high blood pressure and how these can be prevented
• Raise awareness about the Blood Pressure Association as a source of information and support for people with high blood pressure.
In 2008 we tested the blood pressures of 250,000 people at 3,000 Pressure Stations across the UK .
The success of Know your Numbers! Week was recognised when the Blood Pressure Association was announced as a winner of the Charity Awards 2008 for its work on the campaign.
Priorities
- Increased detection of high blood pressure
- Greater numbers of people whose blood pressure is controlled to below 140/90 mmHg
- Inform and support people with high blood pressure to enable them to take control of their own health
- Increased access to blood pressure measurement and treatment to reduce health inequalities
- Prevention of cardiovascular disease to be treated as a priority in health service delivery.