High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

What does Frome Medical Practice offer? 

Blood pressure monitoring

We are encouraging patients to take their blood pressure (BP) at home rather than in the practice, in line with current guidance and to get more consistent readings.

If you do not have a home v monitor, we have two blood pressure stations in our reception area where you can come and check your blood pressure. You can do this in the practice between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday morning 9am to 12noon. We also invite you to drop off a urine sample in a yellow topped tube for screening to check for protein leak in the kidneys.

For regular monitoring the practice has a number of machines that can be loaned. 

You may wish to buy your own blood pressure monitor, such as an Omron M2 machine. These are available in supermarkets, chemists or online for £20-25. If you are buying a monitor, it is important it is an arm cuff monitor and NOT a wrist monitor. Here is a list of validated blood pressure monitoring machines. 

Wear loose clothing when taking your blood pressure as layers of tight clothing rolled up  on your arm above the blood pressure cuff can cause readings to be artificially high.

You can send in your blood pressure reading via our online results form.

SEND US YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE RESULTS - CLICK HERE 

How do I take my blood pressure at home? 

You can read our blood pressure monitoring at home guidance here. 

READ OUR BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING AT HOME GUIDANCE

What should my blood pressure readings be? 

You can read more about blood pressure, what it is, what blood pressure readings mean and how to calculate your average blood pressure here. 

Ideal blood pressure for those with high blood pressure (hypertension) is below 140/90 for readings taken at the practice and 135/85 for home readings. This is for patients who do not have any frailty.  For those individuals with chronic kidney disease or diabetes ideal blood pressure targets are a little lower.

If your blood pressure is above the ideal level, then taking a set of readings over 7 days can help to decide if there is a need to change your medication.  You can return those readings to us by clicking here.

How can I help to control my blood pressure? 

Staying active, having a healthy weight and a healthy diet can help keep blood pressure controlled and can be a helpful part of your treatment. 

FIND OUT WHAT WE MEAN BY HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE SUPPORT IN FROME

Supporting patients with high blood pressure 

If your BP is raised we will invite you in to discuss how changing medication and improving lifestyle factors will  help get better blood pressure control.

Every patient is individual and for some patients who are at increased risk of falls due to frailty there is a fine balance between treating blood pressure and reducing it too far, and increasing the risk of light-headedness and falls.

Your BP target may be changed to a target of below 160/90, taking into account the scientific evidence and the advice from our consultant geriatrician and of course your own views about treatment.

For this reason, we are inviting all patients over 80 to have a face-to-face appointment with a health care assistant, to help to reach an individual target for you.

Some blood pressure medications will need to be monitored with regular blood tests.

Other support available

The British Heart Foundation provides helpful information on why it's important to know what your blood pressure is and how a healthy lifestyle can help your blood pressure - click below:  

WHY SHOULD I KNOW MY BLOOD PRESSURE 

You can find out more about high blood pressure - causes, symptoms, treatment on the NHS website:

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE - OVERVIEW