Free blood pressure checks on offer to football fans in Exeter

Published: 26 April 2024

Free blood pressure checks and health advice will be available to football fans attending Exeter City’s last game of the season at St James Park.

In partnership with the club, Devon Public Health have arranged a Know Your Numbers blood pressure checking session for staff and fans on Saturday 27 April.

Local pharmacy staff and medical students from the University of Exeter will be offering blood pressure checks, and health and wellbeing conversations to anyone who wants to take part before the match, which kicks off at 12.30pm.

Materials from the local stop smoking service, Stop For Life Devon, will also be available. 

The Know Your Numbers campaign is aimed at people over 40. High blood pressure is responsible for more than half of all strokes and heart attacks, and is also a risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease and vascular dementia.

With relatively few symptoms, high blood pressure is sometimes called the ‘silent killer’.

The only way to know you have the condition is to get your blood pressure measured, and to Know Your Numbers. 

A similar initiative at a recent Exeter Chiefs game showed just under half of the over 40s tested had borderline or high blood pressure readings, which they wouldn’t otherwise have known.

Getting your blood pressure tested is easy to do and could save your life. You can either go to your local community pharmacy or measure it yourself at home with a cheap and easy-to-use machine.