The Chesterfield Early Supported Discharge (ESD) Team have been able to join the East Midlands ISDN BP@Home project from March 2024.

New patients being referred to their service will now have their blood pressure checked during their inital assessment. If these initial readings are higher than the nationally recommended levels, the team may loan a blood pressure monitor to the patient with advice on how to use it, which will allow the patient to monitor their blood pressure at home during the following week (away from the stress and pressures of the clinical environment - we know that White Coat syndrome is a real thing for some people!)

If the results of the week's readings reveal high blood pressure (hypertension) abouve the recommended levels, the team may then contact the patient's GP (with their consent, of course) to arrange for a review of their medication to control blood pressure.

Hypertension is recognised as a leading cause of stroke and evidence demonstrates the importance of controlling blood pressure in order to reduce the risk of stroke in general, and secondary stroke in stroke survivors in particular. Furher information is available from the Stroke association here and from the NHS here.

The East Midlands has been able to provide funding to many of the community stroke teams across the East Midlands during 2023 to support the introduction of this important prevention, helping to identify hundreds of stroke survivors with hypertension and help them to access treatment to reduce their risk of a further stroke. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.