DARTMOUTH Caring and Dartmouth Rotary held their third successful Blood Pressure Check Day on Saturday 12th April.

The event was held at the Community Corner Café in the Old Market and saw just over 150 people throughout the day, 30 more than the previous year.

This year also saw an increase in younger visitors with over half under the age of 60 and 13% between the ages of 15-29.

There were 28 people recommended to see their doctors within one month in order to receive advice about how to reduce their blood pressure and a further 18 were given doctors referrals within the next week.

The excellent team work of Dartmouth Caring and the Rotary Club once again made this event so successful.

Eight members of the Rotary Club were out around Dartmouth encouraging the public to come in and get their blood pressure checked, while Dartmouth Caring and Rotary volunteers provided free refreshments.

The day was run under guidelines by the Stroke Association and properly trained volunteers from Dartmouth Caring carried out the checks and ensured everything ran smoothly.

‘This event is very important to the local community and helps stress the importance of regular health checks,’ said David Morehen from Dartmouth Rotary. ‘I had my blood pressure checked at last years event and was advised to see the doctor, I have been on daily blood thinning drugs ever since and I had no idea anything was wrong.’

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is called the “silent killer” because it often has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people don’t know they have it. That’s why it’s important to check your blood pressure regularly.

This common condition increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death. The good news is that you can take steps to prevent high blood pressure or to control it if your blood pressure is already high.

‘We were delighted to be working alongside Dartmouth Rotary on such an important event,’ said Alison Stocks, Manager and Coordinator of Dartmouth Caring. ‘Raising awareness of key health issues and hopefully motivating people to keep up regular health checks is so important to our charity.

As well as being a great service for the local community it is also incredibly beneficial to the town’s visitors; 58% of the people who attended this year were visiting Dartmouth which was a big increase from last year.’

‘With just over 150 people’s blood pressure checked and 30% of those advised to seek further medical help with event really does make a real difference to people’s lives. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone to helped make the day possible.’