Do you know your numbers?

Do you know your numbers?

By that, we don’t mean the fractions and decimal places we learned at school, but your vital statistics – like understanding your blood pressure and recognising an unhealthy body mass index (BMI).

This week is Know Your Numbers! Week, organised by Blood Pressure UK, who say: “We’re focusing on the forgotten pandemic of high blood pressure and a golden opportunity to improve blood pressure control both now and in the future.”

Obviously, blood pressure is an important factor during surgery, so we are very happy to shine the spotlight on the campaign.

But we also want to use this as an opportunity to briefly highlight BMI. Because we only perform certain types of surgery, we do not have emergency care on site, which means we are strict about BMI here. If a person is considering surgery at St Hugh’s, their BMI (defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height) is checked. In other words, patients must be of a healthy weight, for their own safety and comfort.

Know your BMI by using the NHS’s healthy weight calculator at www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/

And find out more about Blood Pressure UK’s campaign, which runs until September 12, at  http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/know-your-numbers/know-your-numbers-week/