City kicks off "The Big Squeeze" to fight high blood pressure
By Jamie Stubbe
The Big Squeeze, a month-long project to encourage area residents to check their blood pressure, kicked off Thursday, at the City of Sioux Falls Health Department.
"According to the American Heart Association, nearly 75 million people in the United States are diagnosed with high blood pressure," says Jill Franken, director of the city's health department. "That means one in three adults has high blood pressure. The City of Sioux Falls is proud to be a partner in The Big Squeeze to help area residents understand their risks for high blood pressure."
In addition to the City, other partners in the project include the American Heart Association, Avera Health, DAKOTACARE, Lewis Drug, Novartis and Sanford Health, with promotional support from Epic Multimedia.
According to well-known Sioux Falls physician, Dr. Jerry Walton, high blood pressure is a silent killer, and that is why people of all ages need to know their numbers.
"High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a serious health concern," Walton says. "It is often called 'the silent killer' because high blood pressure often comes with no symptoms. In fact, an estimated 22 million people in our country have high blood pressure and are not being treated for it."
Various locations are offering blood pressure during the month of May, including Lewis Drug stores in Sioux Falls, Falls Community Health, Tires Tires Tires and several area churches.
Additional information on high blood pressure and The Big Squeeze is available at www.heart.org/thebigsqueeze.com.
