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Know Your Numbers Week 2026 at Work
Discover how your workplace can get involved in Know Your Numbers Week, the UK’s most important employee wellbeing event.
- Get to know your health numbers
- Identify hidden risks
- Make positive health changes
Know Your Numbers! Week · 7–13 September
Ten questions.
Most people get four wrong.
High blood pressure is the UK's biggest preventable cause of death — and around six million adults have it without knowing. Take the pressure test, bust a few myths, and find out what your numbers actually mean.
Your result
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out of 10
correct
What to do with this
- 01Get your numbers. A blood pressure check takes two minutes and doesn't hurt. Many pharmacies offer free checks for over-40s, and your GP surgery will do one on request.
- 02Check at home if you can. This year's campaign is all about home monitoring — a validated upper-arm monitor costs about the same as a takeaway and gives you a far more honest picture than a one-off reading.
- 03Know what "ideal" looks like. Under 120/80mmHg. If yours is consistently 140/90mmHg or above, speak to your GP or pharmacist — don't wait for symptoms, because there usually aren't any.
- 04Nudge three people. Send this to colleagues. Six million people don't know they have high blood pressure, and the only way to find them is for someone to ask the question.
Running Know Your Numbers Week at work?
New Leaf Health brings on-site blood pressure and health checks to workplaces across the UK — plus everything your team needs to run the week themselves.
Talk to us about on-site checksThis is not medical advice. This quiz is for general awareness only and is no substitute for a proper blood pressure reading. If you have any concerns about your health, speak to your GP or pharmacist.
Know Your Numbers!® Week is run by Blood Pressure UK, the charity behind the UK's biggest blood pressure testing and awareness campaign. Facts and figures here are drawn from Blood Pressure UK and the NHS.
No answers, readings or personal data are recorded by this quiz
What is Know Your Numbers Week?
Know Your Numbers Week is a wellbeing campaign in the UK, organised by Blood Pressure UK, to help people get to know their health stats.
Primarily, the campaign focuses on blood pressure. Here at New Leaf Health, we advocate for awareness around three key stats:
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Blood glucose
These three stats are crucial to the health of your heart and blood vessels, as well as other major organs. Often, if you have any problems with these stats, you won’t have symptoms.
The only way to find out if you have problems with blood pressure, cholesterol or blood glucose is to get tested regularly.
“Know Your Numbers Week is by far one of the most important dates in the workplace wellbeing calendar. It’s a national campaign aimed specifically at learning about your cardiovascular health – you can’t get more fundamental than that. Given the amount of people who don’t know their blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood glucose levels – and given the impact these stats have on their bodies – knowing your numbers is one of the most fundamentally important things you can do.”
Andy Lee-O’Neil – Director at New Leaf Health
Why is Monitoring Blood Pressure So Important?
1 in 3 UK Adults have High Blood Pressure
According to the Health Survey for England (NHS 2021), around 30% of adults in England are living with hypertension, including 15% with untreated high BP.
More Deprived Areas Have Higher Rates of Hypertension
In the same NHS study, researchers found hypertension had a prevalence of 23% in less deprived areas, and up to 40% in more deprived areas – almost double the likelihood.
High Blood Pressure is known as the Silent Killer
According to the NHS, high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, meaning that the only way to diagnose the condition is by having a blood pressure test.
High Blood Pressure is the #1 Risk Factor for Death
Globally, high blood pressure is the number one risk factor for death. Additionally, the condition accounts for around 50% of all heart disease and stroke-related deaths worldwide.
When is Know Your Numbers Week?
The Know Your Numbers campaign typically takes place during the first full week of September.
Blood Pressure UK, who organises the campaign, has confirmed that this year’s event will take place from 7 – 13 September 2026.
Want to keep up to date on wellbeing campaigns throughout the year? Click below to download our free Workplace Wellbeing Calendar!
Know Your Numbers Testing
It’s easy to get involved with Know Your Numbers Week. It’s all about helping your staff to get their blood pressure tested!
There are a few ways you could approach this:
- Find a local pharmacy that offers free testing for over-40s – and encourage staff to go.
- Rent or buy your own blood pressure machine to use in the workplace.
- Host a facilitated workplace health screening, where staff can find out their cholesterol and diabetes risk, too.
High Blood Pressure Puts Extra Strain on Your Heart and Other Organs
Think about your cardiovascular system like the plumbing in a house. The pressure needs to be high enough to feed your taps, shower and radiators, but not so high that it causes a pipe to burst or a valve to stop working.
Instead of a hefty plumbing bill, though, when your blood pressure is too high, it damages your blood vessels and organs. Ultimately, this can cause irreversible damage, and even lead to serious conditions, such as:
- heart disease
- heart attacks
- strokes
- heart failure
- peripheral arterial disease
- aortic aneurysms
- kidney disease
- vascular dementia
Understanding Your Blood Pressure Score
Below is a chart indicating where your blood pressure reading falls. If you’ve had a reading as part of a workplace Know Your Numbers event (or for any other reason, for that matter), the chart indicates how your score is categorised according to national health data.
It’s important to note that the below chart is not medical advice. Only your GP or health care provider will know what your scores truly mean, so it’s always important to seek advice from a medical professional before making any changes to diet or lifestyle.
| Blood Pressure Range | Systolic Score | Diastolic Score |
|---|---|---|
| Low Blood Pressure | 90 or below | 60 or below |
| Normal Blood Pressure | 90 - 120 | 60 - 80 |
| Slightly Raised Blood Pressure | 120 - 135 | 80 - 85 |
| High Blood Pressure | 135 + | 85 + |
Source: British Heart Foundation
More Information about High Blood Pressure
Does High Blood Pressure have any Symptoms?
Generally speaking, high blood pressure doesn’t have any symptoms. Almost all people with the condition only find out because they get their blood pressure tested – either as part of a health check, or as part of tests for another condition.
According to the British Heart Foundation, the following symptoms can indicate very high blood pressure:
- Blurred vision
- Nosebleeds
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Headaches
It’s important to note, though, that these symptoms can be related to many other conditions, so aren’t a reliable indication of high blood pressure.
Who Should Have a Blood Pressure Check?
High blood pressure is a condtion that can affect anyone – highlighting this is one of the main aims of the Know Your Numbers campaign.
Everyone should have their blood pressure checked regularly, but there are some groups that are more at risk than others. You should get your blood pressure checked regularly if you:
- Eat a high-fat diet
- Eat a high-salt diet
- Don’t exercise
- Are overweight
- Smoke
- Drink too much alcohol
- Are stressed
- Take some recreational drugs
- Are older – the risk of developing high blood pressure increases as you get older
- Have a family history of high blood pressure
- Are of Afro-Caribbean or South Asian origin
NHS Health Checks are offered to adults aged 40 – 74 who don’t have certain pre-existing conditions. So, if you don’t go for your NHS Health Check, you should aim to be regularly testing your blood pressure from the age of 40.
That being said, high blood pressure is actually on the rise amongst young people (16 – 24) in the UK. 5 in 100 young men have high blood pressure, and 1 in 100 young women have it.
In other words, getting your blood pressure tested, no matter how old you are, is never a bad thing.
How Many People in the UK have High Blood Pressure?
According to the NHS Health Survey for England, 30% of adults have high blood pressure (and this figure will be similar for the rest of the UK).
15% of adults have untreated high blood pressure, meaning it’s likely that they don’t know that they have the condition.
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