Galen, a Roman physician, in the first century was the first to speak about the heart and its two chambers but not until Karl von Vierordt in 1854 devised the sphygmograph, taken from the Greek words pulse and write did we see any resemblance to what we have here today.

The blood pressure machines of today empower patients and their families to take control of their illness or potential illness. With hypertension being a major risk factor for both stroke and heart attacks, it is often called the silent killer, as often there are no external warnings that it is increasing.
The lucky few who will gain this wonderful gift from CIBC First Caribbean Bank will now have the opportunity to monitor their blood pressure every day, and take those recording to their physician to make an informed diagnosis. These machines can also monitor the response of their medication, diet changes and exercise regime, with hopefully a downward trend to the ideal reading of 120/80 mmHg, depending on age.

The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados wishes to thank CIBC First Caribbean and Dr Kenneth Connell through the QEH Hypertension clinic for these gifts which may help to prevent a stroke and allow individuals early notification of when to seek help. We look forward to working again with CIBC in implementing a training programme to help patients and families understand how to record and monitor their values in the coming months…

Mrs Gina Pitts CEO, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados Inc February 2016