'No symptoms, but my blood pressure concerned GP'

Nick Hutt said it was not until he tested himself at work that he realised he had high blood pressure

The owner of a coach firm is urging people to get blood pressure checks, after he was diagnosed with a "silent killer".

Nick Hutt, who runs Hatch Green Coaches in Somerset, said he was told he had high blood pressure after the NHS handed out monitors at his workplace.

It comes as NHS Somerset said around 40,000 people in the county could have high blood pressure without knowing, and launched a campaign explaining that monitors can be borrowed from libraries and pharmacies.

Mr Hutt said despite having "no symptoms whatsoever", he is now on medication to manage the condition.

Mr Hutt said after getting a high reading on the monitor at work, he visited his GP surgery, where his blood pressure was recorded as 180 over 110.

The healthy range is between 90 over 60mmHg and 120 over 80mmHg. High blood pressure is considered to be from 140/90mmHg or more.

He said: "She [the doctor] was really concerned about me and couldn't quite believe that I felt okay and that I wasn't feeling more unwell because the reading was so high, so I think that really just does go to show how high a blood pressure reading can be, and there literally are no symptoms whatsoever.

"Since then, I've had regular reviews, blood tests and a steady increase in medication, and more recently, the introduction of a second medication."

Mr Hutt added he has also managed to lose weight and make key lifestyle changes to bring his blood pressure down.

High blood pressure is known as a silent killer

Dr Bernie Marden, the chief medical officer at NHS Somerset, said: "You don't know, until you know."

He added there are "things we can do that alters people's risk really very quickly", once people are seen, which can help avoid issues such as heart attacks or kidney problems.

NHS Somerset believes high blood pressure is the single biggest preventable cause of death in the UK.

"We want people to pay attention to what people's bodies are telling them," Dr Marden said, explaning tests for blood pressure can be carried out with ease.