Eighteen pharmacies in Tower Hamlets are offering free blood pressure and heart rhythm checks. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Pharmacies across Tower Hamlets are offering free blood pressure and heart rhythm checks until Sunday, June 8.

More than 250 pharmacies in North East London, eighteen of them in Tower Hamlets are participating in the action taking place in this year’s Heart Rhythm Week.

Organized by Arrhythmia Alliance, the event is celebrating ten years of efforts to raise awareness and understanding to arrhythmia. According to the AF Association, high blood pressure contributes to about 50 per cent of strokes and is the biggest controllable risk factor for the condition. Heart rhythm disorders affect 16 million people in the UK but since it has no obvious symptoms many people are unaware of their condition.

Hemant Patel, the Secretary of the committee representing local pharmacists said: “We are urging the local community to stop by their pharmacy this Heart Rhythm Week to get their heart and blood pressure checked. It’s really important for residents to know the risk factors associated with their blood pressure and heart, and that’s why we’re here to give advice and information to hopefully reduce the health problems like stroke. We will be working alongside the NHS and the local doctors to detect early signs of heart problems.”

But despite the association’s efforts, Tower Hamlets’ community is not taking full advantage of the free tests. Mr. Sanauwdin, pharmacist from Tower Pharmacy in Wapping, said: “There is not a lot of people coming in for the tests. Just the usual customers that come in for the prescription and we tell them about it. But it is a good initiative to make people aware of the problem.”

It is not necessary to make an appointment to take the tests.

The full list of pharmacies that are holding the tests can be found in the link www.nellpc.org.uk