Eight minute scan could replace painful spinal taps to diagnose multiple sclerosis
When Morven Lean visited her GP for a contraceptive pill check-up aged 24 in 2015, days before she was due to go travelling in South America, the last thing she expected was a hospital stay.But a follow-up call from her family doctor left her plans in tatters.Urged to take a second blood pressure check, she was rushed to A&E and admitted with sky high numbers.Despite coming off the pill, her readings remained dangerously elevated, and she was diagnosed with essential hypertension – where no specific cause is identified. With no family history of the condition, it came as a shock for the now 34-year-old mother-of-two, pictured left.'I was super young and super fit, winning half marathons regularly,' says Morven. 'Every doctor I saw said, "You're not our usual patient."' When Morven Lean visited her GP for a routine contraceptive pill check-up at age 24 in 2015, just days before she was set to travel to South America, a hospital stay was the last thing she expected. Pictured: Stock imageCharity worker Morven was prescribed the ACE inhibitor ramapril and advised to continue exercising, eating healthily and monitor her blood pressure.In 2021, while trying for a baby, she came off the tablets and opted for the DASH diet – a low-salt plan designed to lower blood pressure.It involves avoiding dairy, red meat and sugar. Her readings soon dropped and she came off ramapril for good.She was only prescribed the beta blocker labetalol during labour in 2023, after her blood pressure crept up again.'My hypertension could have been missed,' she says. 'You can pick up a blood pressure monitor for as little as £20 and they really could save your life.'
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Eight minute scan could replace painful spinal taps to diagnose multiple sclerosis
