Co Antrim man Ian Parsley on being diagnosed with ‘silent killer’

Ian Parsley was just 45 years old, had no major concerns about his health, and as a hockey umpire maintained a certain level of fitness.

However, his high blood pressure was detected after he attended an event at which local health charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) was offering blood pressure checks.

NICHS is concerned about the number of people living with undetected high blood pressure in Northern Ireland, and the fact one in two heart attacks and strokes are linked to the condition. Ian is speaking out about his experience as he wants to encourage others to get their blood pressure checked.

Ian said: “In September 2022 I was at an event about stroke hosted by Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke at Stormont. I was there because unfortunately my mother had a stroke in May 2022. The charity was offering blood pressure checks at the event- I had mine checked and was told to seek medical attention immediately.”

“My numbers were something like 191 over 118 – high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher. My reading was quite a shock given that I knew that only five years previously my blood pressure was normal.”

With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, Ian found getting in touch with his GP a challenge.

“I had to seek private medical attention because my need was immediate, and I could not contact my doctor. I had to pay £700 for the various tests conducted by the private medical practice but they were unable to find anything specifically wrong that would have been causing my elevated blood pressure.”

“This felt a bit bizarre because I have never smoked, I am teetotal, and I have always been quite physically active. The doctors asked about my physical activity levels, explaining I should be doing at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. I typically umpire two hockey matches a week which equates to 140 minutes. I was also walking quite regularly so there was no doubt I was getting 150 minutes of activity a week.

“The one lifestyle area I was probably weakest on would have been diet but even that was not too bad, for example, I almost never added salt to food. The doctor also asked about stress, but I couldn’t really say I was experiencing any major stresses.”

Ian was prescribed medication in an attempt to bring his blood pressure numbers down.

“I was put on medication, but the first prescription did not make a lot of difference. Once you are in your mid to late forties you begin to think about your health more and realise there is a very real possibility you could be affected by things like stroke and heart illness in the not-so-distant future. That did motivate me to make dietary changes to try and manage my blood pressure along with the medication. These changes combined with an alternative prescription did bring it down thankfully.”

Ian added:” With a better diet and two types of medication a day, my last reading was 145/88mmHg which is much closer to where we want to be, but it has taken 18 months to get there.”

Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s current campaign highlights, undetected high blood pressure is often known as ‘the silent killer’ due to the fact it rarely causes any physical symptoms or warning signs and is often only discovered after someone suffers a stroke or heart attack.

"I had no idea whatsoever that my blood pressure was so dangerously high. That is the key message I want to get out there- people should be being assessed for blood pressure regularly because the risks associated with undetected high blood pressure are so great.

“If high blood pressure is detected it can be treated. My numbers have shifted over 18 months so that I am no longer at any heightened risk but that took medication, a change of diet, and keeping up my activity levels. You can change things if you get that warning like I did and act on it- but if you do not get your blood pressure numbers checked, you cannot. There are no symptoms whatsoever and people could be oblivious to how at risk their health is.”

Fidelma Carter, head of Public Health at Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, said: “Over 280,000 people, or around 1 in 5 of the adult population in Northern Ireland, are living with high blood pressure but there is a significant number of people, around 120,000, who have high blood pressure and do not realise it. Shockingly, this means at least a quarter of the adult population here live with high blood pressure. This gives us great cause for concern due to the fact one in two heart attacks and strokes are linked to the condition and it is something our current blood pressure awareness campaign aims to change.”

“As Ian highlighted, undetected high blood pressure is often known as ‘The Silent Killer’ due to the fact it rarely causes any symptoms and is often only discovered after it is too late. The only way to know what your blood pressure is, and if it is high, is to have it measured and that is what we are urging the public to do.”

For further information and support about blood pressure, visit www.nichs.org.uk/highbloodpressure