Sioux Falls "Big Squeeze" numbers near final count

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) -  Sioux Falls City Health officials continue measuring how many people checked their blood pressure during last month’s “Big Squeeze” campaign. 

     Health Community Specialist Mary Michaels says the goal was to screen 75-hundred residents, a fifty percent increase from the 2012 effort.

     Michaels says final figures aren’t known yet but it appears that the trend is higher.  She says the campaign is already approaching 6,000 people screened for blood pressure.  She says it shows that the awareness campaign is reaching a broader community

     Michaels says health officials believe one in three Sioux Falls residents has high blood pressure.

     She says high blood pressure is a silent killer so everyone should know his or her numbers