When Adele Stimpson completed her training to be able to carry out blood pressure checks, little did she realise it would potentially save her partner’s life.
Adele is the Hub Coordinator at Hull 4 Heroes – a charity that helps Armed Forces veterans in Humberside.
As an NHS Community Champion, Adele signed up for the training at Health House in Willerby, intending to take the skills she’d learned to then be able to help the hundreds of veterans who regularly interact with Hull 4 Heroes.
After completing the two-hour training course arranged through NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board’s (ICB) CVD Prevention Programme and delivered by the Health Innovation Network, she asked her partner, Matthew Cowley, if she could check his blood pressure so she could practise using the machine she’d been given.
There was no reason to suspect there would be anything untoward. Matthew, a roofer by trade, felt fit and healthy.
However, a medical condition dubbed the “silent killer” because it usually comes without noticeable symptoms, was about to be revealed.
“I tried to take Matthew’s blood pressure several times and the machine just kept giving me an error message and no reading,” explained Adele.
“The next day I tried again, and the same thing happened. Then I did mine and it was fine and took a reading perfectly.
“As a precaution I told him it was best for him to go to the pharmacy and get it done by them. He did, and the same thing happened.
“They didn’t have anyone available to do a manual check and so told him he must go straight to the Emergency Department as this error message meant it was too high for the machine to read.
“We went to the ED and to cut a long story short his BP at triage was 231/154.”
A normal blood pressure reading is in the region of 120/80.
A blood pressure reading of 231/154 is considered a severe hypertensive crisis and carries a very high risk of heart attack and stroke.
Matthew was admitted to the cardiology ward at Hull Royal Infirmary and immediately given medication to lower his blood pressure.
When doctors were satisfied he was no longer at imminent risk, he was discharged with a prescription and advised to speak to his GP about further tests.
“I have to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in the training,” Adele added. “Without it, the outcome could have been so different.”
An estimated 150,000 people in Humber and North Yorkshire are thought to have undiagnosed high blood pressure.
Unchecked, it increases the risk of health problems like heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and other serious illnesses.
Dr James Crick, the ICB’s Clinical Director for Prevention, said: “Around one in four adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many will not even realise it. That’s why getting your blood pressure checked and ‘knowing your numbers’ is so important.
“Whether it is getting your blood pressure checked at your GP practice, visiting your local pharmacy or measuring your own blood pressure with a home device – it’s the first step in helping us identify any issues that could put you at greater risk of serious ill health.
“If hypertension is identified, your GP practice will then work with you to make lifestyle changes and to manage your levels.”
If you’re aged 40 and over and haven’t had your blood pressure checked recently, click or tap here to find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks.
There’s more information about managing blood pressure on the Let’s Get Better website at www.letsgetbetter.co.uk/bloodpressure