Nearly 115,00 adults in the South West have been tested and treated for high blood pressure over the past two years, to protect them against heart attack and stroke.

New NHS data reveals that between September 2023 and December 2025, an additional 114,910 South West adults, aged 40 years old and older, were checked and treated for high blood pressure, taking the overall regional total to 68.7 per cent.

But tens of thousands more may unknowingly be living day to day with risky pressure, which often shows no symptoms. You can feel fine, but your blood pressure might still be too high.

NHS health chiefs in the South West are now urging those people to come forward before it’s too late. All it takes is a quick test, either to put your mind at rest or to enable the NHS to provide effective treatment.

The renewed appeal comes as World Hypertension Day (17 May) highlights the continued importance of raising awareness of high blood pressure and encouraging people to get checked.

Dr Trevor Smith, Regional Medical Director for NHS England in the South West, said: “While we’re continuing to see people come forward to have their blood pressure checked and treated as they become more aware of this ‘silent killer’, we really want to find those thousands of people in our region potentially still walking around, unidentified and untreated.”

Sometimes people might get headaches, feel dizzy, find it hard to breathe, have chest pain, or get nosebleeds—but often there are no signs at all.

Dr Smith added the only way to know for sure is to check your blood pressure.

You can do this at a pharmacy, doctor’s surgery, or at home.

If you are under 80, you may have high blood pressure if:

• a doctor checks it and it is 140/90 or higher, or
• you check it at home and it is 135/85 or higher.

For NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly head of clinical quality, Sam Collier, her wake-up call to high blood pressure almost came too late – when she suffered a stroke as a result, aged just 42.

She said: “I’d had reminders to go for my annual health check, but with two teenage children, a full-time job and a busy life I felt like I didn’t have time to even make an appointment. I didn’t prioritise my health and I almost died as a result.”

Twelve years later and she has made a full recovery but she had to piece her life back together after the stroke which forced her to take a year off work, left her unable to get around without a walking stick, and affected her speech and memory.

Sam added: Please don’t wait until it’s too late. I was lucky I didn’t die from high blood pressure.

“Taking a few minutes to check your blood pressure, especially if you’re over 40 years old, could save your life—and stop a lot of heartache and worry for your family and friends.”

For more information on the importance of a blood pressure check, knowing what those numbers mean and what to do next, visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/south/our-work/blood-pressure/