GP focus with Dr Jim Hacking

2nd May 2022

Our GPs are an important part of Bay Health Care Partners and here our GPs and primary care colleagues have the opportunity to talk about issues and specialties that they are working on or interested in.

Jim Hacking, GP Executive for Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group, highlights the importance of measuring your blood pressure as part of May Measure Month 2022 led by the International Society of Hypertension.

The number one contributing risk factor for global death is raised blood pressure causing strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications.

10 million lives are lost each year needlessly due to raised blood pressure.

What does this look like in Morecambe Bay?

Dr Hacking said: "There are currently around 52,000 adults across Morecambe Bay who are registered as having hypertension and it is estimated that there are approximately 40,000 undetected cases across the Bay. You can find out more about the work that is taking place around long-term conditions and hypertension by reading the ‘Transforming our services’ section of Issue 11 of the BHCP Stakeholder Newsletter."

Who is at risk?

Dr Hacking said: "It’s not always clear what causes high blood pressure, but there are things that can increase your risk. You might be more at risk if you:

are overweight

eat too much salt and do not eat enough fruit or vegetables

do not do enough exercise

smoke

do not get much sleep or have disturbed sleep

are over 65

have a relative with high blood pressure

are of black African or black Caribbean descent

live in a deprived area. "

What can I do to reduce my blood pressure?

Dr Hacking said: "It’s not always clear what causes hypertension (high blood pressure), but there are things that can increase your risk. Making healthy lifestyle changes can sometimes help to reduce your chances of getting high blood pressure and help lower your blood pressure if it’s already high. Changes you could make are:

reducing the amount of salt, you eat and eating a healthy diet

cutting back on alcohol

losing weight if you are overweight

exercise regularly

cut down on caffeine

stop smoking."

How can I get my blood pressure checked?

Dr Hacking said: "The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test. All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years. Getting this done is easy and could save your life.

You can currently get your blood pressure tested at a number of places including:

your GP surgery

at some pharmacies

as part of your NHS Health Check

in some workplaces

you can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor. May Measure Month has helpful tips and resources on how to measure your blood pressure at home. Let your GP know you are doing this."