Hypertension (high blood pressure) has been identified as a leading health risk in Manchester, particularly in Ancoats & Beswick and Clayton & Openshaw.

Persistent high blood pressure can increase your risk of a number of serious (and potentially life-threatening) health conditions, including heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and kidney disease.

What causes high blood pressure? 

It’s not always clear what causes high blood pressure, but there are some factors which may increase the risk, including: 

• Being overweight

• A diet too high in salt and deficient in fruit and vegetables

• Not enough exercise

• Drinking too much alcohol or coffee (or other caffeinated drinks)

• Smoking

• High stress levels

• Being over 65 years old

• Being of black African or Black Caribbean descent 

• Living in a deprived area

• Having relatives with high blood pressure

How do you know if you have high blood pressure? 

Blood pressure can be recorded using monitors that display two numbers: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure (higher number) is the force your heart uses to pump blood around the body. 

The diastolic pressure (lower number) is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels between heartbeats when blood is pumped around your heart.

They're both measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).

What lifestyle changes can reduce blood pressure?

The lifestyle changes your project promotes could help prevent and lower high blood pressure. If your activities enable people to: 

• Reduce the amount of they eat 

• Introduce more fruit and vegetables to their diet

• Lose weight 

• Exercise regularly

• Cut down on alcohol and caffeine

• Stop smoking 

• Manage stress levels

Our Neighbourhood Health Fund could be for you.

For more information about Heart Health, please visit the NHS website.

Bowel cancer is cancer found anywhere in the large bowel, which includes the colon and rectum.

It's one of the most common types of cancer in the UK and has been identified as a high risk health condition in Ancoats & Beswick and Clayton & Openshaw. 

What is bowel cancer? 

• Bowel cancer is cancer that's found anywhere in the large bowel, which includes the colon and rectum.

• The large bowel is part of your digestive system. It helps absorb water from your food and removes food waste from your body.

• How serious bowel cancer is depends on how big the cancer is, if the cancer has spread, and your general health.

• Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK.

• Bowel cancer screening can pick up bowel cancer early, which may mean it's easier to treat.

What causes bowel cancer? 

It's not always known what causes bowel cancer, but it can be caused by genetic changes, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

Having certain health conditions can also make you more likely to get bowel cancer.

You may be more likely to get bowel cancer if:

• You’re over 50

• You smoke

• You're overweight

• A close relative has had bowel cancer

• You have inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

• You have small growths in your bowel called bowel polyps

• You have Lynch Syndrome or familial adenomatous polyposis

What lifestyle changes can lower the risk of bowel cancer?

The lifestyle changes your project promotes could help lower the risk of bowel cancer. 

If your activities enable people to: 

• Eat a healthy diet including at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day

• Stay active and exercise regularly

• Lose weight (if they are overweight)

• Quit smoking

• Drink less alcohol

• Eat less red and processed meat

Our Neighbourhood Health Fund could be for you.

For more information about Bowel Health, please visit the NHS website.