Member Article

Kingston optician tackles town’s stroke risk

A Chingford charity ambassador who lost his mother after she had a number of strokes is urging the public to recognise the dangers of high blood pressure - as part of an initiative being held at Vision Express stores nationwide.

Barry Coppock, aged 69, began volunteering at the Stroke Association almost nine years ago, following the loss of his mother after she had a number of strokes. Barry has worked with the charity in various roles, including chair of a Stroke Association voluntary group for stroke survivors and presenting talks for the charity.

“I joined the organisation because I wanted to do something meaningful,” he explained. “I thought it would be good to get involved with a voluntary organisation, after my mother experienced a number of strokes, I felt I could identify with those affected.

“Stroke just doesn’t have the same profile as other health conditions, yet its consequences can be life-changing, if not fatal.”

National statistics highlight that within the NHS Kingston CCG, almost 2,000 people are stroke survivors, a figure that represents 1% of the local population.

“People often think they’re okay, they assume they’d know if they had high blood pressure, but it often doesn’t have any symptoms,” Barry added. “The only way to confirm you have it is to have a quick, painless test. This is particularly important as the majority of strokes could be prevented if high blood pressure is detected early enough.”

Barry recently visited the Vision Express Kingston store in The Bentall Centre to offer free blood pressure testing for local residents and to educate them about the risk factors of stroke.

The Kingston Know Your Blood Pressure day is the latest in a series of events held nationwide by the national optical retailer, as part of an award-winning partnership with the Stroke Association. They aim to highlight hypertension – also known as high blood pressure - as a contributing factor in around half of all strokes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

9.5 million people, or one in seven, in the UK are diagnosed with high blood pressure. For every 10 people diagnosed, seven remain undiagnosed and untreated – accounting for more than 5.5 million people in England alone. Uncontrolled blood pressure can, over time, lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney damage and eye problems. Although there are a greater number of stroke related deaths in women (23,000 in the UK in 2015 alone) men are at higher risk of having a stroke at a younger age.

George Burroughs, community and events fundraising manager at the Stroke Association, said: “A simple and painless test could prevent a devastating stroke. Too few people are aware just how serious stroke is – it is the UK’s fourth biggest killer.

“It’s vital that everyone knows what their blood pressure level should be and has regular checks.”

Did you know?

There are over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK The average age of stroke has decreased in recent years. People are now most likely to have a stroke over the age of 55. Stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer and twice as many men than prostate and testicular cancer combined, each year Up to 60 per cent of people will experience visual problems following a stroke, yet one in three are unaware that sight loss could be a problem or that treatment and support is available.

For every stroke avoided the NHS saves £23,000, not including the vast social care costs and the effect on the economy from people needing to stop work

‘Know Your Blood Pressure’ events are taking place at selected Vision Express stores nationwide throughout 2017.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vision Express .