Fortunately, Albertson’s had the foresight to place a Lifeclinic blood pressure monitor in the store’s pharmacy so that customers could conveniently check their blood pressure at no cost. When Mary’s father saw the machine, he made the critical decision to check his blood pressure. He took a seat, slipped his arm into the cuff, and pressed the Start button. Within a minute, the machine displayed the test results: His heart rate was skyrocketing and his blood pressure was very high. The systolic blood pressure rate for healthy adults should be below 120. Mary’s father’s systolic blood pressure reading was over 200.

Alarmed by the reading, Mary’s father immediately drove himself to the nearby Jupiter Medical Center. Doctors performed a series of tests and told him that not only was one of his coronary arteries 98% blocked, but that he had experienced a myocardial infarction – simply put, a heart attack. “The doctors decided to transfer and admit him right away to the Gardens Medical Center. It was an emotional weekend,” says Mary. There, doctors performed an angioplasty and placed a stent to unblock the severely clogged artery. Today, Mary’s father is recovering and expects to be back to living an active lifestyle soon.

“I want to thank someone for having this machine in the store. I can’t even begin to think of what would have happened if it wasn’t there right at that moment,” says Mary.

The machine that saved her father’s life was an LC300 blood pressure monitor made by Lifeclinic, the world’s largest manufacturer of automated commercial blood pressure monitors and health stations. Each year, Lifeclinic machines enable millions of Americans to take proactive steps to improve their health. In fact, with more than 30,000 Lifeclinic machines in use across the country, making a stop at a Lifeclinic machine has become a routine event for thousands every week – turning a regular trip to the pharmacy or perhaps the cafeteria at work into a fast, free and convenient way to proactively check and monitor vital health statistics such as blood pressure and heart rate. Lifeclinic blood pressure monitors are used over 400 million times each year.

And in some cases, a quick reading at a Lifeclinic blood pressure monitor or health station – as illustrated by this dramatic true story – can provide enough warning to prevent an impending serious medical emergency.
The American Heart Association estimates that 1 in 3 adults have high blood pressure, and that one in five of these individuals is not aware of their condition. Heart disease also remains the number-one killer in the U.S. for men and women – taking more lives than cancer, accidents, diabetes and other causes. For many individuals affected by high blood pressure, having an easy, fast and no-cost way to quickly check vital statistics can mean the difference between life and death.

According to Mary, her father’s decision to check his blood pressure at a Lifeclinic monitor “was a life-changing event.”