24-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring

Blood Pressure Monitoring is a service available in our Pharmacy without prior appointment.

Why should you care about your Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure (also called hypertension) causes silent damage to the blood vessels and the heart. If untreated this damage progresses over time and may result in stroke or heart attack. High blood pressure also increases the risk of damage to the blood vessels in your kidneys and eyes.

What is Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure measures the work your heart does to pump blood. Two numbers measure it - systolic (when heart squeezes blood) and diastolic (when heart relaxes). Normal is 120/80. You need to get it measured to know if it's high.

What does your result mean?

To understand what your blood pressure result means for you, it important to understand that blood pressure is one of a number of factors which affect your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Your blood pressure should always be viewed in combination with your other risk factors. Other important risk factors include: Smoking Being overweight Raised cholesterol Diabetes Family history of heart disease.

Do you need to see a Doctor?

Based on your blood pressure result, you may be recommended to visit a Doctor within a specific time. General referral guidelines are designed for patients with no symptoms or underlying conditions. If you are suffering from symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations or shortness of breath you should seek immediate evaluation by your GP. Remember that high blood pressure is just one risk factor for heart disease and stroke. If you consider yourself to be high risk you should seek your GP’s advice. If you are currently taking prescribed medication to treat high blood pressure, do not discontinue or change the dosage of these medicines based on the results until advice has been given by your Doctor.

What if you have high Blood Pressure?

How your Doctor will choose to manage your high blood pressure will depend on how high your blood pressure is, as well as what other risk factors you may have. Regardless of whether the Doctor prescribes medication for you or not, there are a number of important lifestyle changes you can make: Lifestyle Changes… If you smoke, stop smoking Patients with high blood pressure who smoke are 3-4 times more likely to have a heart attack compared to non-smokers. You can get advice on quitting from your Pharmacist, family Doctor, local HSE office or you can phone the National Smokers Quitline at 1850 201 203.