Well England were never going to do it the easy way, were they? The nation erupted on Sunday after Chloe Kelly blasted home the winning penalty and secured successive UEFA Women’s European Championships for the Lionesses. But to get to that point, fans were certainly put through the wringer. And that nail-biting excitement may have pushed up fans’ blood pressure too.
With research showing that watching high-stakes matches can significantly increase the ‘stress’ hormone cortisol – which can lead to a raise in blood pressure and heart rate – our client Asda committed at the start of Euro 2025 to offering free, walk-in blood pressure checks at its Asda Pharmacies, with no appointment necessary.
We at Smarts launched the initiative as the tournament kicked off, with former England goalkeeper Carly Telford visiting a local Asda Pharmacy for a blood pressure check, securing national coverage in The Mirror, The Star, Express, Metro and across 100+ regional titles!
And as we all recover from a nail-biting final, we’re delighted to say that the work has paid off – Asda saw a 19% uplift week-on-week in customers visiting an Asda Pharmacy for a blood pressure check the week our activity went live – and continued to see a 14% uplift as the tournament progressed.
Of those tested, approximately 1000 patients over 40 years old had undiagnosed high blood pressure – 42 of which had blood pressure sufficiently high enough to warrant immediate referral to urgent care for further investigation.
We wish those diagnosed all the very best. And it just goes to show the importance of some campaigns. With high blood pressure a common condition that affects 1 in 4 adults and often presenting no symptoms, and with the Lionesses winning in the most stressful of ways – we hope to encourage more people to stay match fit this summer and beyond.