Organised by the UK’s leading blood pressure charity, Blood Pressure UK, Know Your Numbers Week, which runs from Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd September 2013, is designed to increase your awareness of the health complications associated with high blood pressure.

During the course of this week, 1,000 Blood Pressure Stations will be set up in towns and cities across the UK with the aim of offering free blood pressure checks to anyone who wants to keep on top of their heart health. To find your nearest Blood Pressure Station, all you need to do is visit the Know Your Numbers Week website and use the “Find Your Nearest Free Blood Pressure Check” search facility.

Your free blood pressure check will be quick and painless and it will give you an indication as to the strength at which your blood pushes against the walls of the large blood vessels in your body. If your blood pressure is too high, it will put extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. When left untreated, it may increase your risk of suffering from heart disease, a heart attack, or stroke. It is also a risk factor in kidney disease and dementia.

If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, it is perfectly possible for you to reduce your blood pressure by making a few simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. For example, you may choose to eat less salt, add more fruit and vegetables to your diet, lose weight if you need to, consume less alcohol or become more active.

A diagnosis of high blood pressure does not have to ruin your life — it is easy to take action to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of suffering from serious health problems.

In most cases, having high blood pressure will not interfere with you taking holidays abroad, however if you have only just been diagnosed, your blood pressure is unstable or extremely high you should consult your GP before travelling.

Your high blood pressure may increase your risk of suffering from a condition called deep vein thrombosis, or DVT for short. DVT, which occurs when a blood clot forms in one of the veins in your legs, can be a very serious condition. To reduce your risk of suffering from DVT, you should keep yourself hydrated and move around within the aircraft cabin as much as possible, at least once every hour.

If you are travelling abroad it’s very important to have travel insurance in place which will cover you for medical treatment related to your high blood pressure, otherwise you could find yourself facing large medical bills if you do fall ill whilst you are away.

To ensure that your high blood pressure is covered you’ll need to declare it to your insurer and answer a short set of questions about your condition.

Goodtogoinsurance.com can cover travellers with high blood pressure and all types of related medical conditions; we can usually issue cover immediately by phone or online and don’t need to see a doctor’s certificate.

Find out more about travel insurance with cover for high blood pressure >>