CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — Area I health promotions personnel will offer free blood pressure tests from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in front of the Camp Casey Post Exchange, officials said.

“There are no warning signs to tell you if you have high blood pressure,” said coordinator Kenneth Cobb.

He gave the example of a major who had his blood pressure tested last year and next found himself in an ambulance on the way to the troop medical clinic.

“He didn’t even know his blood pressure was high, but it was so high it was at the point of an emergency,” Cobb said. “They put him on medication and told him to diet. By the time he left South Korea his blood pressure was under control.”

Even though the Army tests soldiers’ blood pressure during routine physical exams and most military personnel are young and healthy, Cobb said, everyone should watch his or her blood pressure.

“If your blood pressure is too high there is an underlying problem. If it stays too high it could cause a stroke or heart failure,” he said.

People can maintain low blood pressure by eating healthy foods, reducing salt in their diets, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, drinking alcohol moderately and, most importantly, by quitting smoking, he said

The blood pressure tests are part of National High Blood Pressure Education Month, he said.