2. inside story
Message from Chairman >---------------------------------------------01
Message from Managing Director >--------------------------------03
Message from Additional Managing Director >------------------04
Editor’s Note >-------------------------------------------------------------05
Board of Directors >-----------------------------------------------------06
Management Article: The Practices of Exemplary Leadership >-------07
Half Yearly Business Conference 2016 >-----------------------------12
Japan Tour of SBL Chairman>------------------------------------------13
Agreement >---------------------------------------------------------------15
Health Tips >---------------------------------------------------------------17
Best Performance Award 2015 >------------------------------------21
Accolade from Bangladesh Bank >----------------------------------21
CSR Activities >------------------------------------------------------------22
Meeting >-----------------------------------------------------------------25
Vice Chairman’s Reception >-------------------------------------------27
Meet The Press >--------------------------------------------------------28
Training and Workshop >-----------------------------------------------29
New Joiners >-------------------------------------------------------------30
Branch and Agent Outlet >---------------------------------------------31
Editor:
M Ahsan Ullah Khan, EVP
Chief Patron
Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, Chiarman
Chief Advisor
Md. Nazmus Salehin, MD & CEO
Coordinator:
Mejba Uddin Ahmed, PRO
Md. Tafazzul Islam, SO
Advisor:
Mamun - Ur - Rashid, AMD
Concept & Design:
EDITORIALBOARD
4. 02insight
SBL
I am very delighted to know that SBL is
going to publish its first ever quarterly
in house newsletter, SBL Insight.The
internal corporate newsletter for
employees is a great way to keep
employees informed, build loyalty,
motivate employees, help employees
perform better, encourage employees to
help recruit quality new employees, and
boost the company’s reputation and
growth through employee engagement.
Company newsletters are more than simple pieces of paper that are
sent around to show everyone how wonderful the company really is. I
strongly believe that SBL Insight will act as a mouth piece of Standard
Bank Ltd where all important events, activities, policy changes,
changes in direction, etc. will be covered so that employees around
the company get acquainted with all updates.
SBL has been relentlessly working to retain
its qualified professionals through Employee
Recognition by encouraging employees to
do their job well, take pride in the company
and recognize exemplary performance.
People love to read about other people and it
makes sense to read about the positive. In
addition, placing people as an example
encourages others to follow which could
have a long-term effect of developing a “can
do”culture.
Changes in Policies & Procedures: Let us say
that SBL is implementing a new method of
getting consumer loan. Placing this
information in the newsletter will help
people become aware of the changes.
Furthermore, summarizing company
postings will also help in protecting the
company from liability.
Needless to say that Knowledge is power and is a key factor.
Successful companies attempt to get the entire workforce working
together. Certainly, employees who have an overall understanding
of the company are less susceptible to a disgruntled attitude.
I hope SBL Insight will come out with new and diverse contents
across the Bank and thus would cater to the need of readers’quench
of learning. Keep up the spirit.
Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed
Chairman
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ManagingDirector’s
Message
I am extremely delighted at the
idea of publishing a newsletter
as SBL Insight, which will
showcase bank’s various
activities at regular interval.
Such publication is an integral
part of transmitting information
with the customers and
employees highlighting new
products, functions and
strategies of the bank.Today, the
importance of effective
communication can hardly be
overemphasized for financial like
ours. I strongly believe that
customers who are better
informed about us can be served
better and employees more
satisfied.
As I look back I can say that last year was a successful
year for us and we started a number of initiatives to
bring diversification in the array of our products and
services. Our VISA credit Card programme has been
successfully launched and now our customers can
have access to most of the delivery channels both at
home and abroad. Meanwhile we have realigned our
products to mobilize long term deposits at branch
level. We expect that our cost of fund will get reduced
progressively. Using our Alternate Delivery Channels
we provide banking services directly to the customers
through ATM, Branch POS. Internet Banking, SMS
Banking, Mobile Banking and Agent Banking. Our rural
credit programme has got new momentum and is set
to enlarge the base at different locations.
I am confident that we shall be able to grow and face
new challenges despite diversity. Our human resources
are bank’s best assets and they are fully committed to
take the bank to a new height.
Our focus will remain to achieve higher level of
customer satisfaction with competitive pricing and
better service.
I thank all of you who have taken initiative of
publishing SBL Insight.
Md Nazmus Salehin
Managing Director
6. Messagefrom
AdditionalManagingDirector
Dear Members
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to PR & Brand Comms team for
their efforts and dedication in bringing out such informative in house newsletter
SBL Insight. This publication will certainly work as a bridge between the employee
and employer. As we all know that among ourselves there are many talents and
qualified professionals whom we do not know in person but our newsletter can be
a strong platform to identify and acknowledge their individual contribution towards
our successes.
I firmly believe that it would cater the huge thirst of gaining corporate learning.The newsletter will continue to be a vehicle
for promoting fluent communication among all members of the Bank and stakeholders in all subject areas. Similarly, SBL
members are encouraged to contribute news and announcements. Therefore, we want interesting, high quality articles for
distribution to our colleagues and stakeholders. Additionally, by providing general news and announcements in the field
of banking, the newsletter would appeal to more SBL members and would provide more relevant information to
professionals within the Banking community.
I seize this opportunity to thank all those who have submitted their contributions for this Issue.
Mamun-Ur-Rashid
Additional Managing Director
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7. Editor’s
Note
Dear Colleagues
I am pleased to present the first
issue of the SBL Insight, which
will serve as an additional
communication channel among
our colleagues, customers and
other stakeholders.The
newsletter will contain
information of our interest about
upcoming developments,
changes and new initiatives.
Thanks to those of you who
contributed to it as these
contribution are essential to the
newsletter‘s success.
In fact, it was a long felt demand to publish an in house
SBL newsletter. Finally together with everyone’s support
we have successfully brought out quarterly SBL Insight. In
order to make it more informative and attractive we have
tried to incorporate diverse topics ranging from health
issues to management issues which may interest our
readers.
On top of that, we welcome articles, write-ups from our
colleagues and well wishers to make it more resourceful.
We aimed to bring out SBL Insight quarterly with lots
more interesting and exciting topics. Beyond a doubt this
effort would be successful if we get your candid feedback
for further improvement. Please feel free to provide your
feedback, write-ups, announcements, obituaries and
essays and send pertinent information with photos for
inclusion in our forthcoming issues.
We appreciate you taking the time to read SBL Insight
and look forward to meeting you in December this year
with new contents.
Wish you have a happy reading!
M Ahsan Ullah Khan
Executive Vice President
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8. Board
of
Directors
NameoftheDirectors
Honorable Directors
not present in the
group photograph
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06
Mr Ferozur Rahman Vice Chairman
Mr Kamal Mostafa Chowdhury Director
Mr Ashok Kumar Saha Director
Mr Md. Monzurul Alam Director
Mr S. A. M. Hossain Director
Mr Mohammed Abdul Aziz Director
Mr Al-Haj Mohammed Shamsul Alam Director
Mr Gulzar Ahmed Director
Mr Md. Zahedul Hoque Director
Mr Al-Haj Md.Yousuf Chowdhury Director
Mr S. S. Nizamuddin Ahmed Independent Director
Mr Najmul Huq Chaudhury Independent Director
Mr Iftikhar-Uz-Zaman, Managing Director, ICB Director
Mr Md. Nazmus Salehin Managing Director & CEO
Mr Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed Chairman
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PRACTICES
OF EXEMPLARY
LEADERSHIP
“Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to
contribute to making something extraordinary happen.”
“When I walked in the door on my first day,” Dick Nettell
told us, “we had four hundred people working really,
really hard, but they weren’t winning. We had people
who were walking around looking like they ran over
their dogs on the way to work. It was very, very sad.” As
the new site executive for Bank of America’s Consumer
Call Center in Concord, California, Dick found“reps cores”
(the key performance measure) 21 percentage points
behind the top performing call center and 18 points
behind the next lowest performer. Fifty five percent of
employees felt that they were in an environment in
which they could not speak their minds, and 50 percent
believed that nothing was going to happen even if they
did.
It’s Dick’s firm belief that everybody wants to win.
Everybody wants to be successful. Everybody comes to
work trying to make a difference. But the call center
employees suffered from“management whiplash.”The
constant turnover in leadership and changes in priorities
had been sending them down the path of poor
performance. Dick said that when he started asking
about the comparisons with other centers, “All I heard
were the reasons why we couldn’t do this or that. If there
were an Olympic excuse-making team, we would be
gold medalists. People were very disempowered.” So
Dick set out to change all that.
Dick set aside three entire days just for talking and
listening to people. He gathered as much data as he
could from these interviews and elsewhere.“If you keep
your eyes open and periodically actually shut your
mouth, and you have the courage to turn the mirror
around on yourself,”said Dick,“it’s amazing what you
can learn and how you can change things.”
He met with the call center’s senior managers and
support staff in a large basement conference room and
10. insight
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presented his findings. Then he handed out stacks of
Post-it notepads and asked the group to write down five
adjectives that described the center at that time. He
repeated this process two more times, asking them to
write down five adjectives that described how they
thought their peers would describe the center and what
they thought the associates, or customer service
representatives, would say.
Each time, their responses were written on an easel. It
was a bleak picture. Words such as demotivated, volatile,
imprecise, failing, disorganized, frustrating, not fun,
constantly changing priorities, lack of appreciation, too
many changes, and not enough coaching appeared on
the lists.
Even so, there were some positive comments about the
people, such as dedicated, energetic, and supportive.
Then Dick asked them to go through the process once
more, this time describing how they would like the call
center to look in the future. “If you could wave a magic
wand,” he asked the group, “in three to five years how
would you like the center to be described?” The
language they used to express their hopes, dreams, and
aspirations painted a dramatically different picture from
the one Dick found when he came aboard: amazing
results, world class, a model for others to follow, a unique
place to work, partnership, opportunities to learn and
grow, true passion for our customers. Armed with this list
of aspirations Dick and the management team began to
craft a vision, mission, and set of values (which they
called commitments). The resulting vision and mission
read as follows:
OUR VISION OF THE FUTURE . . .
• We will be seen as a World Class Call Center and the
standard against which others are measured—one with
true passion for our customers.
• We will be acknowledged across the franchise as a
model to follow, where every associate truly feels like a
partner, has an equal opportunity to learn and grow, and
understands their personal impact on our overall
success.
• We will be viewed as a unique place to work, an
organization that drives amazing results while having
fun along the way.
OUR MISSION IS . . .
• To provide an experience that consistently “delights”
our customers every single minute of every single day.
Over the next six weeks Dick held twenty-two forty-five
minute state of-the-center meetings with every team in
the call center. “Here’s our vision, here’s what we’re
committed to,” Dick would say to begin raising
awareness of the issues, and then he’d ask, “Does this
make sense to you? Is there something we need to
change?”Then Dick told them about his own beginnings
in Bank of America. He told them about how he started
as a garage helper, worked his way up to be an
automobile fleet manager, and eventually found his way
into senior management.
He told them,“I’m here at the call center because I want
to be here,” and then related the story of how he had
retired as the bank’s corporate services executive and
decided to come back. He said he woke up early one
morning and realized that something was missing in his
11. life. “At four in the morning you can’t lie to
yourself,”he told them.
“I realized that I’m really passionate about
working with folks to get them to think
differently about themselves. What was
missing in my life was the ability to make a
difference in people’s lives. It may sound corny,
but I love to be able to work with people so
that they can be the best they can be.”So Dick
reached out to an executive he admired at the
bank and asked about the chance of coming
back. He got his wish when the opportunity to
take on the Concord Call Center came along.
Everyone in those state of-the-center
meetings, when they heard Dick’s story,
realized that they had a champion on their
side, a genuine leader who would enable them
to turn their aspirations into actuality. They
understood that Dick was there because he
wanted to be there, not because the call
center was on some career path to a higher
position.
At those meetings Dick challenged everyone
to take the initiative to make the new vision a
reality. “You’ve lost the right to suffer in
silence,” he said. “If you have an issue, open
your mouth. I want you to talk to your
managers, talk to my communications person,
talk to me, or visit AskDick.com. Think about
sitting in my chair. Give me ideas and
proposals that I have the authority to approve.”
Dick made it clear that from then on changing
the call center was everybody’s business.“You
have to be a part of this,”he said.“You want to
be like a partner, then you’ve signed up for
some responsibility in the process.” Dick’s
challenge made it clear that things were going
to change, and that the associates were
empowered to act. “Everybody should have
that equal opportunity to succeed and learn
and know what it feels like to win,” Dick said,
and “once you’ve done that—you’ve got
people well positioned—get the hell out of
their way and watch them rock and roll.” To
maintain the momentum, Dick began
holding monthly “town hall” meetings. To
make that happen he had to challenge the
way things are normally done—it’s tough to
pull call center people off the phone, even
once a month. So they do two half-hour
town halls each month, with half the center
attending one, and the other half coming to
the other. At each one, Dick constantly
reiterates the mission, commitments, and
vision—that’s a ritual with him.
He gives a “you said, we did” report. Then there’s a discussion of
current initiatives.
For example, the month that we visited Dick, the new-hire
onboarding process,
the upcoming associate survey, and clothing guidelines were the
topics of discussion.
Following the initiative discussion is a report on the month’s
performance. Each town hall concludes with “Celebrating Heroes,” a
time for individuals who have made significant contributions to the
center to be publicly recognized. And it’s not just Dick and his
managers doing the recognizing. Associates also get time on the
agenda to celebrate peers for living the values of the bank and
keeping the commitments they’ve made to each other.
Recognition and celebration are a big deal to Dick. When he arrived
at the Concord Call Center, very little of either was going on, so Dick
put it on the agenda. Every Wednesday, for example, is “Pride Day,”
when people wear company logo merchandise and you see a lot of
red, blue, and white bank shirts. Although Pride Day was started
before Dick arrived, he added new dimensions to the ritual. For
starters, there’s the fifteen-minute spirit huddle; once a month every
one of the team managers has to bring at least one associate with
them, and in the huddles the managers recognize their local heroes.
You’ll also see people wearing spirit beads. Dick came up with the
idea because he wanted something really visible yet inexpensive
enough that they could do a lot of it. The beads come in different
colors, but on every string hangs a medallion with the same word:
PRIDE.
PRIDE is Dick’s motto; it stands for Personal Responsibility In
Delivering Excellence.
That medallion suspended from the gold, blue, and green beads
symbolizes what all the values, vision, and mission are about to Dick.
They’re about taking pride in what you do. And when Dick conducts
quarterly coaching sessions with each of his direct reports, they talk
about PRIDE, and mission, and vision, and values. Another thing they
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12. insight
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L E A D E R S H I P
talk about is how other people see them as leaders.“When we turn that mirror around,” he asks,“is there a match to what
we’re saying? How do we spend our time every day? Do our goals match our commitments?”It’s in these discussions that
Dick gets down to aligning actions with the values of the center.
Despite the tremendous progress they’ve made in becoming a model call center, and toward keeping the commitments
that they’ve made to each other, Dick still believes that“every day is opening day.”He said,“It doesn’t matter what you did
yesterday. Each and every decision and action is a moment of truth. You say something and what do people see? The two
have to be aligned. It’s all about the video matching the audio.”
And for Dick the challenge continues, for he knows that every day will present him and the organization with some
wonderful chance to try something new:
“In today’s environment, if you want to be successful, doing things the same way just won’t get it done, period.
Expectations continue to be raised, by our shareholders, by our managers, and by our customers. And if we’re not willing to
be innovative and do things differently, we’re going to have the competition pass us like we’re sitting still on the freeway.”
Dick demonstrates exemplary leadership skills, and he shows us how leaders can seize the opportunities to bring out the
best in others and guide them on the journey to accomplishing exceptionally challenging goals. He serves as a role model
for leaders who want to get extraordinary things done in organizations.
Source: Leadership Challenge
13. insight
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EnsuringJobExcellenceMohammad Zakaria
• Job : A collection of tasks and duties performed by one person holding a position.
• Job Description : A written summary of tasks, duties & responsibilities; and job location defining to
whom to report.
• Job Specification : The minimum skill, education and experience necessary for an individual to do a job.
• Job Design : A conscious effort to organize tasks, duties and responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve
a certain objective.
• Job Rotation : Moving on horizontally or vertically to expand one’s skill, knowledge and activities.
• Job Enrichment : Adding more responsibilities, autonomy and control to a job.
JOB EXCELLENCE
Reaching one’s job to a level of desired quality and perfection.
KEY POINTS FOR ENSURING JOB EXCELLENCE:
• Understand your job assignment thoroughly
• Involve yourself into your assignment with mental make-up
• Establish rapport with other members of the team
• Try to gather knowledge from experienced people
• Disseminate your knowledge among others for acquiring more information
• Acquire knowledge and increase skill through proper training
• Design appropriate method for job simplification
• Increase job scope and job diversity
• Improve your skill regarding various jobs through job rotation
• Enjoy self-motivation
• Build into jobs a higher sense of challenge and achieve it with great impression
• Deliver attempt to link changing job requirements with changing attitude
• Make your job amusing and enjoy job satisfaction
• Uphold integrity and ethical standard in the job
• Evaluate your job based on efficiency and effectiveness
• Analyze own performance with yourself, find out the deficiencies and address them
• Deliver continued effort to translate your job into more perfect one
Principal, SBTI
14. insight
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Half Yearly Business Conference 2016
Managing Director and CEO of SBL Mr Md. Nazmus Salehin presided over the ceremony. Honorable Chairman
of the Bank Mr Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed was present as the Chief Guest. Honorable Vice Chairman
Mr Ferozur Rahman was present as special guest. Directors Messers S. A. M. Hossain, Mohammed Abdul Aziz
Gulzar Ahmed, S. S. Nizamuddin Ahmed, Najmul Huq Chaudhury,
Additional Managing Director Mr Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Deputy Managing Directors Mr Qazi ASM Anisul Kabir &
Mr Md. Motaleb Hossain were present on the ceremony.
Managers of all branches, heads of departments and senior executives of Head Office attended the meeting.
Chairman Mr Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed advised branch managers to comply with banking norms and
practices in order to ensure ethical banking. He called upon all to work sincerely to achieve the goal and
objective of the bank and foster a culture of quality service.
15. insight
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99thLionsClubsInternationalConventioninFukuoka,Japan.
PCC Ln. Qazi Akramuddin Ahmed PMJF, ID Endorsee, Multiple District-315, Bangladesh is seen in the
International Parade with other leaders of the Multiple District 315 on the occasion of 99th Lions Clubs
International Convention 2016 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Ln. Qazi Akramuddin
Ahmed PMJF, ID
Endorsee of MD-315,
Bangladesh is seen with
the Honorable
International President
Ln. Chancellor Robert
Bob E. Corlew during
the 99th Lions Clubs
International
Convention 2016 held
in Fukuoka, Japan.
16. Ln. Qazi Akramuddin Ahmed PMJF, ID Endorsee of
MD-315, Bangladesh is seen with the Honorable First
Vice International President Ln. Naresh Aggarwal
during the 99th Lions Clubs International Convention
2016 in Fukuoka, Japan.
At Final Plenary Session of the
99th Lions Clubs International Convention 2016 in
Fukuoka, Japan.
Meeting with the leaders of Multiple District 315 at
Hilton Sea Hawk Hotel of the
99th Lions Clubs International Convention 2016 in
Fukuoka, Japan.
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17. Standard Bank Limited and Bangladesh
Telecommunication Company Limited
(BTCL) recently signed an agreement for
collecting bill through online banking
system from SBL branches. Managing
Director and CEO of SBL Mr Md. Nazmus
Salehin and Member (Finance) of BTCL Dr
Md. Abu Said Khan signed the agreement
on behalf of their respective organizations
at BTCL Head Office. Senior officials of
both the organizations were present on
the occasion.
Standard Bank Limited
recently signed an agreement
with Nokkhottrobari Resort &
Conference Center, Gazipur.
Under this agreement
Standard Bank VISA
cardholders and employees
can avail discount of 30% on
room rent, 20% on conference
room rent and 10% on food at
the Resort. Additional
Managing Director of SBL Mr
Mamun- Ur- Rashid and
Agreement
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Standard Bank Limited recently
signed an agreement with Rangs
Industries Limited. Under this
agreement SBL Credit cardholders
will get EMI facility up to 12
months at 0% interest on
consumer electronics and home
appliances from all outlets of
Rangs Industries Limited. Mr M
Ahsan Ullah Khan, EVP & Head of
PR & BCD of SBL and Mr Iminder
Singh Khurana, Chief Operating
Officer of Rangs Industries Ltd.
signed the agreement on behalf
of their respective organizations.
Senior officials of both the
organizations were present.
Managing Director of Nokkhottrobari Resort & Conference Center Mr Tauquir Ahmed signed the agreement on behalf of
their respective organizations at SBL Head Office. Senior officials of both the organizations were present.
18. insight
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Standard Bank Limited recently signed an
agreement with Thakral Information
Services Ltd. for setting up the state- of- the-
art Data Centre & Disaster Recovery Centre.
In presence of Mr Md. Nazmus Salehin,
Managing Director and CEO of SBL; Deputy
Managing Director Mr Quazi ASM Anisul
Kabir and Mr Basab P. Bagchi, CEO of Thakral
Information Services Ltd. signed the
agreement on behalf of their respective
organizations. Additional Managing Director
Mr Mamun-Ur-Rashid and senior officials of
both the organizations were present.
Standard Bank Limited signed an agreement with BRAC Saajan Exchange Ltd, UK for Remittance Drawing Arrangement.
In presence of Mr Md. Nazmus Salehin, Managing Director & CEO of SBL, Mr Syed Anisur Rahman, EVP & Head of ID of SBL
and Mr Abdus Salam, Managing Director & CEO of BRAC Saajan Exchange Ltd, UK signed the agreement on behalf of
their respective organizations. Under this agreement expatriate Bangladeshis can send remittance to Standard Bank
Limited through BRAC Saajan Exchange Ltd, UK. Mr Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Additional Managing Director of SBL and high
officials of both the organizations were present on the occasion.
Standard Bank Limited
has introduced EMV VISA
Chip Cards in order to
ensure more safety and
security to SBL
cardholders.
Mr Md. Nazmus Salehin,
Managing Director
launched the new
microchip embedded
card recently at SBL
Head Office. Additional
Managing Director
Mr Mamun-Ur-Rashid,
Deputy Managing Directors Mr Quazi ASM Anisul Kabir & Mr Md. Motaleb Hossain of SBL and VISA representatives Mr
Amitoj Sawheny, Director, Business Development, South Asia & Mr Soumya Basu, Associate Director, Business
Development, South Asia; Heads & executives of SBL were present in the launching ceremony.
19. What is blood pressure?
When your heart beats, it pumps blood round your body to
give it the energy and oxygen it needs. As the blood moves, it
pushes against the sides of the blood vessels. The strength of
this pushing is your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is
too high, it puts extra strain on your arteries (and your heart)
and this may lead to heart attacks and strokes.
What is normal blood pressure?
Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure below 120 over
80 (120/80). This is the ideal blood pressure for people
wishing to have good health. At this level, we have a much
lower risk of heart disease or stroke.
If your blood pressure is optimal, this is great news. By
following our healthy living advice, you will be able to keep it
this way. If your blood pressure is above 120/80mmHg, you
will need to lower it.
Most adults in the UK have blood pressure readings in the
range from 120 over 80 (120/80) to 140 over 90 (140/90). If
your blood pressure is within this range, you should be taking
steps to bring it down or to stop it rising any further. Our five
top tips will show you how.
The reason why people with blood pressure readings in this
range should lower it, even though this is not classified as
'high' blood pressure, is that the higher your blood pressure,
the higher your risk of health problems. For example,
someone with a blood pressure level of 135 over 85 (135/85)
is twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as someone
with a reading of 115 over 75 (115/75).
What is high blood pressure?
You probably have high blood pressure (hypertension) if your
blood pressure readings are consistently 140 over 90, or
higher, over a number of weeks. You may also have high
blood pressure if just one of the numbers is higher than it
should be over a number of weeks.
If you have high blood pressure, this higher pressure puts
extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. Over time, this
extra strain increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
High blood pressure can also cause heart and kidney
disease, and is closely linked to some forms of
dementia. You can check your blood pressure on our
Blood Pressure Chart.
What are the signs and symptoms of high blood
pressure?
High blood pressure usually has no signs or
symptoms, so the only way to know if you have high
blood pressure is to have yours measured. However,
a single high reading does not necessarily mean you
have high blood pressure. Many things can affect
your blood pressure through the day, so your doctor
will take a number of blood pressure readings to see
that it stays high over time.
Occasionally people with very high blood pressure
say they experience headaches, but it is best to visit
your GP if you are concerned about symptoms.
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HealthTips
20. What causes high blood pressure?
For most people, there may be no single cause for their high blood pressure. We do not know exactly what causes high
blood pressure. We do know that your lifestyle can affect
your risk of developing it. You are at a higher risk if:
• you eat too much salt;
• you don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables;
• you are not active enough;
• you are overweight;
You can help to lower your blood pressure - and your risk
of stroke and heart attack - by making lifestyle changes.
Additional causes of high blood pressure
There are some factors that increase your risk of
developing high blood pressure, which you cannot
control. These include:
• Age: as you get older, the effects of an unhealthy
lifestyle can build up and your blood pressure can
increase.
• Ethnic origin: people from African-Caribbean and South
Asian communities are at greater risk than other people of
high blood pressure.
• Family history: you are at greater risk if other members
of your family have, or have had, high blood pressure.
Some people may have high blood pressure that is linked
to another medical condition, such as kidney problems.
For these people treating the medical problem may lower
their blood pressure back to normal.
What is low blood pressure?
Many people worry about low blood pressure
(hypotension), but probably don't need to.
Some people have a blood pressure level that is lower than
normal. In general this may be good news - because the
lower your blood pressure is, the lower your risk of stroke
or heart disease. However, in a few cases, having low blood
pressure can cause problems, so you might need to speak
to your doctor or nurse.
What is a low blood pressure reading?
A low blood pressure reading is having a level that is
90/60mmHg, or lower.
Only one of the numbers has to be lower than it should be
to count as low blood pressure. In other words:
• if the top number is 90 or less (regardless of the botton
number) this may be low blood pressure
• if the bottom number is 60 or less (regardless of the top
number) this may be low blood pressure.
What causes low blood pressure?
Some people have a blood pressure level that is naturally
low. That is, there is no specific cause or reason why.
However, some health conditions or medicines can cause
you to develop low blood pressure.
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Is low blood pressure dangerous?
Usually, having low blood pressure is not a cause for concern. However, sometimes your blood pressure can drop to a point
where you may feel faint or dizzy.
If you find that your blood pressure is suddenly much lower than usual, there may be a reason for this. Speak to your doctor
or nurse.
How is low blood pressure treated?
Most people with low blood pressure will not need treatment.
If your doctor or nurse feels that you would benefit from treatment, they will often try to find a cause for your low blood
pressure. If they can find the cause, they should be able to decide on the most appropriate treatment for you.
What high blood pressure (hypertension) can do
High blood pressure (hypertension) puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. This can cause them to become
weaker or damaged.
The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of serious health problems in the future. High blood pressure can
affect your body in a number of ways:
• Your heart: high blood pressure can cause you to have a heart attack. It can also cause heart failure.
• Your brain: high blood pressure is a leading cause of strokes. It has also been closely linked to some forms of dementia.
• Your kidneys: high blood pressure can cause kidney disease.
• Your limbs: high blood pressure can cause peripheral arterial disease, which
can affect your legs.
If you have other health conditions, such as diabetes or high cholesterol, this
increases your risk of health problems even more. It is then even more important
to lower your high blood pressure.
How to lower your blood pressure
An unhealthy lifestyle will raise your blood pressure over time. And the higher
your blood pressure becomes, the higher your risk of having a stroke or heart
attack in the future. But the good news is that if you have high blood pressure,
healthy changes will help to bring it down. And you don't have to wait until you
have high blood pressure to make healthy lifestyle changes. The more you can
reduce your blood pressure, the lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke will be.
Help your heart - Control your cholesterol
Cholesterol builds up in arteries and can cause a stroke or heart attack
If you have too much cholesterol in your blood it could form a clot, which can
cause a stroke or heart attack.
Your total amount of cholesterol is made up of two types:
• LDL ('bad'): puts cholesterol into your blood
• HDL ('good'): takes cholesterol out of your blood.
It is best to have:
• a low total cholesterol level
• a low LDL level
• a high HDL level.
One way to measure this is to look at the ratio of your total cholesterol level divided
by your HDL level. The higher the ratio is, the greater your risk of a stroke or heart
attack.
22. Saturated fats
Avoid eating too much saturated fat, as this will raise your cholesterol. It is usually
found in cheese, red meats, butter, palm oil or ghee. Oily fish, such as tuna, are a
good source of helpful unsaturated fats.
How to cut out the fat
By reading the food label, you can see if a food is low, medium or high in fat or
saturated fat:
Strike a balance to lower your cholesterol
To get the best balance, try choosing chicken meals instead of red meats and having
fish at least twice a week (one of which should be an oily fish). When reading food
labels, it is always best to Go for Green
What your cholesterol levels should be
How to lower your cholesterol levels
The best way to help control your cholesterol levels is to eat more“helpful”fats and
fewer“unhelpful”ones.
Eating the right fats will help your body. Some raise your cholesterol levels, while
others lower it and help keep your skin and brain healthy. Hard fats, such as cheese,
are high in saturated fats and should be eaten in moderation.
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Type of cholesterol
Total cholesterol
LDL cholesterol
HDL cholesterol
Total cholesterol / HDL ratio
What your cholesterol level should be
Less than 5
(or less than 4 if you have other health problems)
Less than 3
(or less than 2 if you have other health problems)
More than 1
(particularly if you have problems that affect your heart and blood vessels)
Below 4 is best
• Low - Less than 3g total fat or 1g saturated fat per 100g of food - These foods are a good choice .
• Medium - Between 3-20g total fat or 1-5g saturated fat per 100g of food - Eat small amounts occasionally
• High - More than 20g total fat or 5g saturated fat per 100g of food - Avoid these completely.
More about a heart friendly diet
Eating low-fat foods is just one part of a healthy diet to help your heart and blood pressure, there are a number of others
that will help to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke:
• More on fats and cholesterol
• Eat less salt to lower blood pressure
• Eat more fruit and vegetables
