'I went for eye test and optician said I was having a heart attack'

A woman was left shocked when a routine visit to the optician resulted in her being told she was experiencing a heart attack. Norma Booth had been feeling dizzy and under the weather, so she arranged an appointment, thinking her eyesight might be the culprit.

However, rather than being informed she required new spectacles, she was told she needed an ambulance. The surprising diagnosis occurred when Norma was offered a blood pressure examination, which is now accessible during standard eye appointments as part of a new NHS trial.

The findings revealed that her blood pressure was so elevated that the team immediately contacted her GP, before she was rushed to hospital. Once there, medics confirmed the news - she had actually been experiencing a heart attack.

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Norma, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, said: "It's a miracle. Absolutely a lifesaver.

"If somebody says 'do you want your blood pressure tested?', do it. It's telling you what is wrong with your body."

Optician Gohar Majid, who conducted the examination, said: "She dismissed it thinking it is always low, but it had been over a year since her last test, so while we had time, we did a blood pressure test and it was a lot higher than we expected."

Norma isn't the only one who has reaped the benefits of this groundbreaking new scheme. The initiative is currently being tested in four regions across England, including Greater Manchester, and has already conducted 4,000 tests - potentially saving an estimated 44 lives in its first eight months.

Health bosses have hailed these simple checks as a potential game-changer for detecting silent killers such as high blood pressure.

Julia Maiden, from Wigan Local Optical Committee and the clinical lead for the pilot in Greater Manchester, said: "The data highlights the service's effectiveness in identifying undiagnosed hypertension - an intervention that can significantly reduce long-term cardiovascular risk."