World Hypertension Day was marked last week, with an effort on the local front to detect and lower high blood pressure across the board.

MUN and Hypertension Canada have teamed with about 30 pharmacies to check blood pressure—and provide tips for people to check their own in the comfort of their home.

Hypertension Canada president Ross Tsuyuki says while that’s the ideal way, compared to a clinic, it’s critical to make sure you buy the right device.

He says a recent check of local pharmacies versus the online option was very revealing.

“What we found was, in some cases 100 per cent, or nine out of 10 blood pressure machines sold in pharmacies are recommended by Hypertension Canada,” he said.

Tsuyuki says, “On the other side of things, if you were to go with an online retailer and purchase it, which might be a little cheaper, less than half of them are actually recommended. And we’re kind of worried about those devices that haven’t been properly tested because you could get results that are quite far off.”

Machines that have been tested and recommended by Hypertension Canada have a gold or silver check mark over a heart on the package.

Meanwhile, Tsuyuki noted Hypertension Canada chose this province as the focus of its blood pressure campaign for good reason.

“You know the rest of the country is about one in four people have high blood pressure. Newfoundland and Labrador is closer to one in three. That’s a lot of people and it’s a major contributor to heart disease and stroke.”

The blood pressure campaign is part of May Measurement Month, a global screening project taking place in more than 90 countries.

A list of local pharmacies taking part can be found online.