VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The American Heart Association is installing a new blood pressure monitoring kiosk at the Hampton Roads Community Health Center in Portsmouth.
American Heart Association, community leaders and HRCHC staff were available at the Hampton Roads Community Health Center located at 664 Lincoln St, Portsmouth 23704, Thursday, for a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
The ceremony included guidance to community members on how to use the kiosk and register for the American Heart Association’s online blood pressure control tracker called Check. Change. Control.
Users are encouraged to regularly monitor blood pressure, which can be done by returning to the kiosk after registering for the online account.
Those who use the kiosk will receive important tips and feedback along the way to help improve their blood pressure readings.
“Placing this kiosk at the Hampton Roads Community Health Center makes blood pressure monitoring simple and ongoing for members of our community. In the 7 cities of Hampton Roads, Virginia over 578,000 adults or 34% of the total population is living with high blood pressure. This is equivalent to the number of people who can fit on 117 naval aircraft carriers. Blood pressure is an extremely important number for people to know in order to gain control of their health. Knowing your blood pressure and utilizing online AHA resources like Check. Change. Control. puts you in control of managing your blood pressure” American Heart Association board chair Tracey Copeland said.
According to new blood pressure guidelines released in 2017 that define high blood pressure beginning at 130/80, nearly half (46 percent) of U.S. adults may have high bloodpressure.
The risk of stroke, heart attack or heart failure is a result of uncontrolled high blood pressure raises. This is sometimes called the “silent killer” because it has no symptoms.
Improving access to blood pressure monitoring tools and education can help more Americans manage high blood pressure.
