A person has his blood pressure checked at a self-service blood pressure measurement kiosk in Ruijin Hospital.

Intelligent self-service blood pressure measurement kiosks will be available in the city to allow people to check their blood pressure conveniently, with the system then sending results to the headquarters and suggesting people visit a doctor if necessary.

The latest survey found that about half of local residents don’t know their blood pressure, officials said today during World Hypertension Day.

The first such blue kiosk has been installed in Ruijin Hospital and more will appear in department stores and traffic hubs in the future.

By scanning the QR code, people can receive blood pressure checks. The data can then be sent to people’s smart phones and a platform which will give instructions on what to do next if the data is abnormal.

“Blood pressure is the most basic data to see a person’s cardiovascular condition,” said Dr Wang Jiguang, director of the Shanghai Hypertension Institute atRuijin Hospital. “Hypertension is a preventable and treatable disease, but the only way to discover it is with regular testing."

Research found only 46.5 percent of Chinese people with hypertension are aware of their condition, and only 41.1 percent have received treatment. Only 13.8 percent of them have their hypertension under well control.

In Shanghai, the rate of awareness is about 10 percent higher than the national level.

The health society has been promoting public awareness of blood pressure checks in recent years. May Measurement Month, a joint global initiative by the International Society of Hypertension and the World Hypertension League, has been launched across the world. China participated in theactivity last year when 490,000 people received blood pressure tests.

The plan this year is to check 1 million people across 200 cities and towns in the nation, officials said.