Do you know your numbers?

We have to give our car an MOT every year, but when was the last time you gave yourself one? Do you know your numbers? What is your blood pressure or cholesterol level, and when was the last time you had these checked?  For most of us, we go about our daily lives without knowing, or even thinking about these important figures, let alone getting them checked and reviewed on a regular basis.

But by knowing, and keeping a check on your blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, cholesterol and waist measurements can help to cut your risk of kidney and heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  So do you know your numbers?

Blood pressure

Suffering from high blood pressure, or hypertension can often go unnoticed as it generally has no visible symptoms.  However, it can have a significant impact and lead to strokes or heart attack, so it’s important to get it checked regularly.

But what is your blood pressure reading and what does it mean?  It consists of two numbers, 140 over 80 for example.  The first is your ‘systolic’ pressure, which is the pressure of your blood as it leaves the heart.  The second is your ‘diastolic’ pressure, which is the pressure of your blood between heartbeats.

Both figures are important if either is consistently high it can increase your risk of a stroke or heart attack

Cholesterol

We all know that high cholesterol is bad for you, but do we know why?  High cholesterol can block up your arteries, which can then lead to heart disease, heart attacks, strokes or kidney diseases.  Which are all things we want to avoid.

Blood glucose

Diabetes can often go undiagnosed; in fact it’s reported that up to one million people in the UK have undiagnosed diabetes. A blood glucose test is the first step for a diabetes diagnosis.

Get measuring

Muffin top, beer belly there are many names for that bit of extra weight around your middle. But your waist measurement can act as a predictor for future health problems.  Those that store excess fat around our middles are more likely to develop heart disease, Type 3 diabetes and potentially cancer.

Weigh yourself

Knowing your weight and height means you can calculate your Body Mass Index or your BMI. This will show whether you’re a healthy weight for your height.

These numbers are all important as they can act as a warning sign about your health in the future.  But how do you find these out, as they’re not something you can do at home.  As part of our suite of wellbeing services, we offer a health check service, run by health care professionals that allows you to offer these tests to your staff.