The Tacoma Public Library has teamed up with the American Heart Association for its Libraries with Heart initiative.
TPL patrons can now check out blood pressure-monitoring kits from eight different locations. Each kit comes with an AHA-validated monitor and cuff with instructions in English and Spanish. Kits can be checked out for three weeks at a time, or are available for in-library use.
“Hypertension or high blood pressure is often called a ‘silent killer’ because many people do not know that their numbers are high until serious symptoms or events occur,” Susie Woo, cardiologist and board president of the American Heart Association, Washington, said in a release. “Many adults in Washington are living with high blood pressure and unaware or without the tools to manage it. At-home monitoring enables people to be more actively involved in knowing their numbers and partnering with their providers to improve their health, using measurements from the comfort and privacy of their home.”…