Once a month, the senior citizens of Katy are invited to gather at Woodlands Park. Typically, each person brings a covered dish and their dancing shoes. After enjoying a wonderful meal, they get together and dance, play bingo, dominoes, etc… Recently, Katy EMS has been invited to attend. As the young men and women arrive they have the option to have their Blood Pressure (B/P) and Blood Sugar checked, both of which are very important in the elderly community.

Blood Pressure is the amount of pressure the blood exerts against the arterial walls. Basically, the B/P tells how well the organs and tissues are getting the oxygen that they need. A normal B/P is usually figured by adding 100 + the patients’ age, up to 150 for the top number, or systolic. The diastolic, or bottom number, is normally 65 to 90. These numbers are for the male person, and the female typically run 10 mmHg lower. There are many factors that can cause these numbers to be higher or lower than they are supposed to be, and it’s important for the citizens to maintain a record and control of their B/P.

Maintaining a normal “Blood Sugar” is important also. Normally, a hormone called insulin pushes sugar from the blood into the body’s cells where it can be used for energy. The amount of blood sugar in the blood remains within a fairly narrow range. If the body stops making insulin, then adequate sugar does not get into the cells. This is referred to Type I diabetes. There is also a condition in which the body produces insulin but it does not make proper use of this insulin. This is known as Type II diabetes. Without quick knowledge of either of these conditions, a person can become very ill.

The priorities of the Katy Fire and EMS system are to provide a quality of care that will set the standards for other emergency services. Blood pressure screenings are another tool used to enable our service in protecting the public.