WARNING: Being grumpy could give you a stroke
…and I should know, says celebrated grouch Jenny Eclair, because I’m one of the millions of Britons with dangerously high blood pressure
IT IS fair to say that comedian, novelist and selfconfessed grumpy old woman Jenny Eclair isn’t known for her calm nature. So when she went to see her GP a few weeks ago before embarking on a 50-date nationwide tour and discovered that her blood pressure was high, she wasn’t entirely surprised.
‘I’m one of those people who starts to feel faint as soon as I go to the doctor and think I’m going to be sick on the floor,’ she reveals.
But Jenny’s blood pressure was not just high, it was worryingly high – although she won’t reveal the exact number because ‘that’s like telling you how much I weigh’.
The award-winning star of BBC2’s Grumpy Old Women and ITV’s Loose Women, who turned 56 last week, has a family history of heart disease. And her doctor was concerned enough by the reading to ask her to wear a 24-hour bloodpressure monitor.
‘It was very disconcerting, because it buzzes,’ she chuckles. ‘You’re sitting on the Tube and you’re aware that there’s a slight vibration going on underneath your coat and you can see the other passengers thinking, “What is she up to?”’
The results showed that her blood pressure was very unstable, leading to a diagnosis of hypertension – the medical term for chronically high blood pressure.
‘I have moments of normal blood pressure and peaks of extremely high blood pressure,’ she says. ‘During the day I’m likely to go into high territory. I think it has probably been going on for five years.’
Hypertension rarely has noticeable symptoms, but it is a serious problem because it increases risk of heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, stroke and dementia. More than five million people in England are unaware they have high blood pressure, yet it affects more than a quarter of adults.
The risk of having high blood pressure increases with age, with those over 65 most affected. Being overweight, having a family history of the condition, and a poor diet high in salt are also thought to contribute, as does drinking too much coffee, other caffeinated drinks, and alcohol. Post-menopausal women are also at greater risk than men of the same age, due to changes in their hormone levels.
As hypertension is linked to a risk of stroke, Jenny was prescribed medication to help lower it, and advised to make lifestyle changes such as doing more exercise and cutting her salt intake.
She was also warned that her fluctuating blood pressure means she is at risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common form of irregular heart rhythm, which affects about a million people in the UK and causes about 20 per cent of all strokes. Once AF is detected and treated with medication, stroke risk can be reduced by 67 per cent.
Jenny has now teamed up with Boots, which has just launched an advanced DIY blood-pressure monitor that can also detect AF, to raise awareness of both conditions. ‘I’d only vaguely heard of AF from shows such as Casualty,’ she says.
‘I don’t have AF now, and hope I won’t get it, but knowing there is a way I can monitor this at home, and that if it’s detected, I can access treatment for it through my GP, gives me peace of mind. I can monitor myself more regularly than my GP can and I can have confidence in its accuracy. That’s something that can’t be underestimated for a hypochondriac like me.’
Boots pharmacist Tom Kallis says AF screening is suitable only for people aged over 50 who have hypertension, diabetes or coronary heart failure, or who have had a previous stroke.
He adds: ‘Sometimes AF is intermittent, so regular home screening can help spot potential problems that might not be caught by a GP.’
Jenny is philosophical about having high blood pressure, saying: ‘I’m at the age when things start to go wrong. If it’s not my blood pressure, it will be something else – thyroid problems, acid reflux or an ingrowing toenail.
‘It’s just the roll of the health dice. I think all families have genetic things – some families are plagued by gout, some have arthritis and some have cancer. In mine, heart stuff is what I’ve got to watch out for. I know a young, fit doctor who is on blood-pressure medication too. But luckily no one in my family seems to peg out early.
‘My father died when he was 90 and my grandma died when she was 87. We’re not the type of family that talks about health issues, but I realise now that my grandma had angina. She had a little supply of white pills which I now know to be beta-blockers. Like me, she was someone who could get herself quite aerated.’
Jenny is aware that her lifestyle hasn’t always been the healthiest. She suffered from anorexia in her early 20s, and now battles with being overweight. She gave up smoking ten years ago, but wishes it had been 20. ‘I’m the last of that
generation that smoked and drank heavily in our 30s,’ she says.
‘I’m also in a stressful occupation. There was something in the newspapers recently that said performers have the fastest heart rates – it’s all the anxiety and nerves.
On the other hand, when I’m writing a book I hardly move for nine months – that’s not good either. I’m very aware I need to exercise more. Swimming is meant to be really good for high blood pressure, so I must remember to pack my costume when I go on tour.
‘And I don’t mind going to the gym as long as I have a podcast or a Radio 4 drama to listen to. The problem is I have no routine at all, which is why I behave like a giant toddler who’s never been trained properly.’
She adds: ‘I did go through a yoga phase in my 30s, and I was in great nick then. I don’t know why I stopped. It wasn’t very calming though, because I was very competitive about my yoga. I was thrashing about doing hardcore ashtanga, spinning on one hand and competing with women half my age in bendiness terms.’
Jenny admits that it will also be hard to break her habit of relaxing with a glass of wine and bag of crisps in a hotel bar after a gig. ‘I’m meant to be cutting down on savoury snacks. I like salty popcorn, or a posh crisp. I have a condition known as evil crisp hand. I’m going to have to nip that in the bud – or get my hand amputated.’
She’s also learning the importance of relaxation. ‘I’m doing a lot of extracurricular hobby stuff that stops my brain from going mental,’ she says. ‘I do tapestry, watercolours, iPad art, reading. Just sitting on the sofa, allowing myself hobby time. That’s good for my blood pressure.’
A year ago, before she knew her blood pressure was high, Jenny wrote the copy advertising her tour. By coincidence, one of her lines was: How many episodes of The Great British Bake Off does it take to lower your blood pressure?
‘I wrote it in the sense of being an angry, menopausal woman, who could feel her blood pressure going up,’ she recalls. So how many episodes does it take? She laughs. ‘I’d say it takes three, back to back.’
The Boots Advanced Blood Pressure Monitor with Breakthrough Atrial Fibrillation Alert costs £129.99. Jenny’s tour, How To Be A Middle Aged Woman (Without Going Insane), runs until December. See jennyeclair.com.