Stroke survivor urges people to check blood pressure

Paul Chandler says he "blames himself" for not getting his blood pressure checked

A man who had a stroke that "changed his life" is urging people to get their blood pressure checked.

Paul Chandler, from Wellington in Somerset, had a stroke in 2021 when he was 60.

While he had learned to walk and talk again, he has still not regained full control of his right arm and leg.

"I hadn't seen a doctor for over seven years, that was the trouble," he told BBC Somerset. "This would have been picked up earlier."

'Quite scary'

Mr Chandler is urging other people to get their blood pressure checked, as NHS Somerset is running a 24-hour blood pressure "Test-A-Thon" at offices and shops across the county.

According to the NHS, one third of people with high blood pressure are unaware of it and 50% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable with early diagnosis of high blood pressure.

Mr Chandler had not checked his blood pressure in a while when in July 2021, at 60-years-old, his wife found him collapsed on the floor of his study.

"I had no idea what happened. It was quite scary. I couldn't call out and I couldn't move," Mr Chandler said.

"I didn't realise I couldn't talk. In my mind I couldn't understand why nobody was coming to my aid."

His wife called an ambulance and Mr Chandler was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

NHS Somerset is offering blood pressure checks at Hinkley Point

His recovery took 13 weeks.

"When you can't move and speak, you think life is over," he said.

"I felt so sorry for my wife because she was told to expect the worst.

"After a few weeks I suddenly thought: 'Come on, Paul, you're not helping anyone. You've got a lovely family'."

Mr Chandler added that from that moment on, he worked on his recovery every day, until he was able to return home in November 2021.

"Coming home, that feeling was wonderful," he said.

He added that he still blamed himself for not exercising enough or getting his blood pressure checked.

"Although doctors told me there are multiple reasons a stroke can happen, I always found it easier to blame myself," Mr Chandler said.

'Simple test'

NHS Somerset is offering blood pressure checks at work places including Hinkley Point and Jay’s Logistics, supermarkets, and shopping centres across a 24-hour period on 5 and 6 September.

Professor Trudi Grant, executive director of Public and Population Health, for Somerset Council and NHS Somerset said: “High blood pressure often has no symptoms so it is thought that about 40,000 people in Somerset have high blood pressure but don’t know it.  

"It’s a really simple test so don’t wait – get tested now at your local community pharmacy or borrow a self-testing kit from your library that you can use at home; it could save your life.”