Know Your Numbers Week

This week, 2-8 September, is Know Your Numbers Week, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of the risks of high blood pressure which this year is also promoting home blood pressure monitoring.

High blood pressure is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes but usually has no symptoms until it’s too late, which is why it’s known as ‘the silent killer’. The British Heart Foundation says that ‘knowing your numbers’ means you can start making healthy lifestyle changes or start taking medicines if you need them to bring your blood pressure down to a healthy level.

Aptus Know Your Numbers Clinics

At Aptus, we’ve been organising Know Your Numbers clinics for several years through our healthcare provider UK Healthcare, as part of our commitment to support the health and wellbeing of our team members.

These voluntary lifestyle screening sessions are offered to all employees and test blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels among other health checks. Sessions were held at our offices and depots throughout the summer months and were well attended, although we are always keen to encourage more colleagues to take advantage of the free health and wellbeing support available at Aptus.

What happens at the session?

Our health and safety department invited people to sign up for the free health check-up, which generated a good response. On the day, a Wellbeing Coach from Westfield Health carried out a comprehensive lifestyle screening including tests for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, height, weight and BMI, as well as establishing the individual’s visceral fat and body fat percentage.

The one-to-one consultation takes around 20-minutes and involves a discussion around lifestyle satisfaction to help the coach evaluate daily stress levels, work-life balance, daily energy levels and sleep quality.

Each person who attends receives their results immediately along with a personal report. Crucially, anyone exhibiting elevated total cholesterol, blood glucose and/or blood pressure scores is immediately referred to their GP for further medical guidance.

At the session, people have the opportunity to discuss their results and request further information on health and lifestyle. They can also take advantage of the numerous wellbeing resources which are available through Westfield Health and UK Healthcare.

This support is available to all our colleagues and is one of the many benefits that Aptus offers colleagues. You can read more about the benefits we offer by reading our brochure here.

More than 14 million adults in the UK have high blood pressure with as many as five million thought to be undiagnosed due to the lack of discernible symptoms. Knowing your numbers – and getting a blood pressure check! – is the first step to preventing serious illness.

Find out more about Know Your Numbers Week at Blood Pressure UK, or visit the British Heart Foundation for information and support on managing your blood pressure at home.

Published on 3rd September 2024