Saving Lives

Opera singer Dame Malvina Major has her blood pressure taken by a St John Ambulance officer, accompanied by Diane Whitehead of the Rotary Club of Fairfield.

“It can be hard to make the time for something as simple as a blood pressure check, or we just don’t think about it, and yet, it could end up saving our lives.  So many people with high blood pressure probably don’t even know they have it, so these free checks are invaluable” - Rotary Club of Fairfield President Mike Cahill’s comments encapsulate why the national Blood Pressure Awareness campaign held on Saturday October 4 was so important, considering that there is a very strong association between high blood pressure and strokes, with strokes being the third largest killer in New Zealand and a major cause of disability. 

For the sixth consecutive year, Rotarians throughout the country teamed up with The Stroke Foundation of New Zealand, St John Ambulance, Wellington Free Ambulance and Foodstuffs supermarkets to raise awareness about blood pressure, its relationship to strokes, and the importance of having regular blood pressure checks.

Rotarians assisted over a four hour period at 187 sites, mostly at Foodstuffs’ New World and Pak‘nSave  supermarkets, encouraging shoppers to have their blood pressures taken, handing out information packs, gathering data, and ensuring its return to the Stroke Foundation for evaluation. They were also responsible for securing promotion coverage of the campaign by contacting local community newspapers and community radio stations. In some areas, Rotary clubs gained the support of celebrities to raise the profile of the campaign, such as in Hamilton where opera singer Dame Malvina Major kindly agreed to front their local campaign. 

In last year’s campaign, it was found that 47% of the 22,000 shoppers tested had raised blood pressure readings, with 4% of participants falling into the severe hypertension range, resulting in 13% being specifically referred to a GP or nurse for further medical advice and treatment. In follow up phone calls, 40% of respondents said that they were taking action as a result of their blood pressure reading or due to information received on Down With Blood Pressure campaign day.

The results of this year’s campaign are still being collated, and should be available to clubs by the end of the year.  It was another successful campaign, reaching more New Zealanders than ever before.  

As Rotary Club of Keikeri President Bruce Mathieson said, “If today’s exercise prevents just one premature death, it will have been four hours well spent”.

Rotary Club of Taieri President Peter Williams encourages shoppers to have their blood pressure tested.