Prosperous man adopted healthier lifestyle after blood pressure scare

A retired factory worker from Prosperous revealed how a blood pressure check-up led to him adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Pat Casey, who is aged in his 60s, was diagnosed with high blood pressure a number of years ago and placed on medication.

His blood pressure returned to within normal range and so the medication was discontinued.

However, last year Pat attended Irish Heart’s mobile health unit, and was found to have high blood pressure once more.

He returned to his GP and was placed on specific medication.

Pat told KildareNow  he is grateful to have caught the condition a second time so that he could take measures to resolve matters.

He now has a very healthy diet and walks several kilometres around Prosperous every day.

Pat’s father died of a heart attack and so he is particularly conscious of the importance of looking after his heart health.

As for advice to others, Pat urges people to get plenty of exercise – he enjoys walking, gardening and cycling himself – to watch what you eat, including eating less salt, and to maintain a healthy weight.

Blood pressure checks

A total of 623 Kildare people availed of free blood pressure checks as Irish Heart's Mobile Health Unit service in the past year.

This figure is made up of 289 men and 334 women who attended the unit – which is supported by Bank of Ireland and Medtronic – when it visited the county.

Officially marking its first anniversary, Irish Heart is taking the opportunity to appeal to men, in particular, to get checked for high blood pressure.

The plea follows findings from a national sample survey of attendees which showed a greater prevalence of high blood pressure in men – the silent risk factor for stroke and heart attack.

In the survey of 268 attendees nationally, 41% of participants were found to have high blood pressure, with half of the men (51%) surveyed having high blood pressure, compared with just one third (33%) of women surveyed.

The sample survey also found that of those participants who had their blood pressure checked and who were then advised by Irish Heart Nurses to follow up with their GP, men were more reluctant to visit their GP compared with women.

Of those in this grouping who responded to a follow-up call at six weeks, only 42% of men reported as having gone to their GP compared with 54% of women.