School of Medicine staff help deliver over 100 free blood pressure checks at Senior Open Championship

Clinical academics and medical students from the University of Dundee School of Medicine helped more than one hundred golf fans monitor their blood pressure during the recent Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie Links. 

The collaboration with the British Heart Foundation helped raise awareness about the importance of cardiovascular health. 

Members of the public attending the event were invited to have their blood pressure checked for free at the British Heart Foundation stand, for some it was their first test for several years. 

High blood pressure is a common but treatable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. People can develop high blood pressure with no symptoms therefore blood pressure checks are important to detect any problems.

University of Dundee School of Medicine cardiovascular expert, Professor Isla Mackenzie said, ‘It was a great opportunity for people who may not have accessed health services recently to have their blood pressure checked in an informal setting and to discuss their cardiovascular health and ways they could improve that. 

‘We had all ages of adults coming forward for the blood pressure checks and were able to provide information supplied by the British Heart Foundation to support healthy lifestyle choices and to direct people to seek further advice from their general practitioners if needed.’

Professor Isla Mackenzie (Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine), Dr Filippo Pigazzani (Senior Clinical Lecturer from the Hypertension Research Centre) and Dundee medical students Omar Mohammad, Benni Whiteley and Yashika Relan all volunteered at the four-day event.