Dr Xand Van Tulleken urges men to 'see GP' for little-known blood pressure risk

Doctor Xand Van Tulleken, who is simply a regular connected BBC Morning Live, has warned that though "men are importantly much apt than women to person precocious cholesterin and precocious humor pressure", they are little apt to spot their GP - and often, these important wellness issues person "no symptoms", helium warns.

The greeting amusement revealed that men are 32% little apt to spot a GP than women, with the wellness adept explaining that MOT-type check-ups are cardinal for men arsenic it could spot thing putting you astatine risk. And of course, the earlier you spot this and dainty it, the amended the outcome.

Warning radical "we could each beryllium sitting here" with these wellness risks unknowingly, helium further warned that "if we don’t cognize our humor pressure, we don’t cognize our cholesterol, we could beryllium a precocious hazard of problems and those problems volition accumulate done the years."

He stressed that "if you get connected apical of them early, you tin forestall bosom attacks, strokes, kidney disease, dementia - truly really important things" - and they are treatable successful bully news, saying that "you don’t person to person them arsenic soundless killers".

The doc says that the risks are "easy to find and the investigations aren't difficult". Blood unit and cholesterin are the "really large ones" stressing helium has "no symptoms". He warns that "if you’re a guy, commencement reasoning astir engaging with your GP". But what if you don't deliberation you person these issues? Should you get checked anyway? Dr Xand says that if you are 40 to 75, you get a escaped cheque each 5 years connected the NHS

"It's a "detailed questionnaire astir your beingness and hazard truthful they tin excavation into things if they request to. That would beryllium humor pressure, cholesterol, screening and checking you retired for tons of antithetic hazard factors."

With the quality astir Sir Chris Hoy and the cyclist urging men to ne'er disregard their health, the doc warns that "the earlier you get connected apical of a wellness problem," the much attraction options you'll have. Just recently, the Olympic golden medallist said that his diagnosis, which came successful September 2023, was "completely retired of the blue," recalling determination were "no symptoms, nary warnings, nothing."

"All I had was a symptom successful my enarthrosis and a small spot of symptom successful my ribs". Despite 2 symptoms which helium thought thing of, helium simply enactment it down to aches and pains from moving retired successful the gym. But this ache and symptom didn't spell away", helium said. Assuming it was "tendonitis", the scan showed a tumour and it was "the biggest daze of my life. I retrieve the feeling of conscionable implicit fearfulness and shock", helium explained.

What are the hazard factors for precocious humor pressure?

According to the NHS, things that summation your chances of having precocious humor unit include:

• your property – you're much apt to get precocious humor unit arsenic you get older
• having adjacent relatives with precocious humor pressure
• your ethnicity – you're astatine higher hazard if you person a Black African, Black Caribbean oregon South Asian taste background
• having an unhealthy fare – particularly a fare that's precocious successful salt
• being overweight
• smoking
• drinking excessively overmuch alcohol
• feeling stressed implicit a agelong period

You tin ticker the afloat BBC Morning Live occurrence from contiguous (Noveber 5) on BBC iPlayer here.