29/01/2026
Today is Stroke Prevention Day, Chris is one of 85,000 people that survive a stroke each year. Around 1/2 of strokes are due to high blood pressure, making it the leading cause of stroke.
A rugby coach who is active and always moving, Chris never imagined that high blood pressure would bring his life to a screeching halt.
It all started at the end of November 2024.
'I had a sharp pain on the left side of my head, buried deep behind my eye. The kind of headache you shrug off as dehydration.'
By day six, his partner insisted he speak to a doctor.
Chris went to hospital, where he was told he had high blood pressure. He was observed overnight.
‘They said everything was under control. I went home with tablets and a plan. But just one week later, I was sitting at my kitchen table when everything changed.’
‘I felt sluggish, and my thoughts felt jammed. Then the vision in my right eye went fuzzy, and then came a black cloud sweeping across my vision diagonally.’
He managed to dial 999 and an ambulance arrived. When he reached the specialist stroke unit, like many others, he had to wait to be admitted and was left in the waiting room with everyone else.
‘They found a 3mm bleed in the basal ganglia a tiny rupture in my brain. Minuscule, but enough to blow my world apart.’
Chris spent six nights on the stroke ward.
‘I could walk, talk, and eat, and yet I didn’t feel like I belonged there. But I did.’
Chris’ recovery is ongoing. His speech has mostly returned, but under pressure or fatigue, words come out wrong or not at all.
‘I forget names, lose thoughts, and the tiredness is so bone-deep its crushing.’
‘My message to everyone is to please not wait. Don’t ignore it. Don’t think it won’t happen to you. Check your blood pressure. It might just save your life.’
Nearly 414 people will have a stroke every day in the UK, that's one person every three and a half minutes by 2035 unless the public, NHS, and the Government tackle prevention.
Stories like Chris' are why we're encouraging everyone to help protect themselves against stroke by monitoring their blood pressure regularly. Visit our website to find out more:https://bit.ly/49WRWsO
