A YouGov poll asked people in our region whether or not they regularly get their blood pressure checked. Eighty three percent of people in Bristol and across the South of England said they don't. It comes as a worrying twenty two percent can’t even remember the last time they were checked was, a survey conducted on behalf of the Stroke Association has found.
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00:00 A YouGov poll asked people in our region whether or not they regularly get their blood pressure
00:05 checked. 83% of people in Bristol and across the south of England said they don't. It comes
00:12 as a worrying 22% can't even remember the last time they were checked was. A survey
00:17 conducted on behalf of the Stroke Association has found.
00:20 It's often described as a silent killer. High blood pressure is thought to affect an estimated
00:24 32% of adults here in the UK. As the condition rarely has any symptoms, approximately 3 in
00:30 10 of these remain undiagnosed, equating to more than 4.2 million people in England and
00:36 Wales. If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your blood vessels,
00:40 heart and other organs such as the brain, kidneys and eyes and, if left untreated, the
00:45 condition can lead to fatal heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia.
00:50 It's not always clear what causes high blood pressure, but there are things that can increase
00:54 your risk. According to the NHS, these risk factors include things like obesity, poor
00:59 diet, lack of exercise, smoking, drinking too much alcohol and/or caffeine and being
01:03 over 65.