Dr Oscar on Blood Pressure
If you want to measure your blood pressure at home, the British Heart Foundation have a simple chart and diary which can help. Click here, external for more.Remember, blood pressure goes up and down throughout the day. This can be because of movement, stress, or excitement. It only becomes a problem if it's consistently high.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Reform's new chairman is Most Haunted TV star
Reform UK's new chairman is a former TV presenter known for fronting a reality show about hunting ghosts. Dr David Bull, who is also an ex-hospital doctor, will take over from Zia Yusuf, who dramatically resigned from the party last week before rejoining just two days later. Dr Bull is a former deputy leader of Reform, having held the role from 2021 to 2024, when he was replaced by Richard Tice on Nigel Farage's return as leader. For around a year, the 56-year-old shared the job with Ben Habib, who has since quit the party and become an outspoken supporter of Reform critic Rupert Lowe. Before entering politics, Dr Bull worked as a TV host, starting as an on-screen doctor for Sky TV in the mid-1990s before joining Newsround, the children's news show, and going on to present the paranormal series Most Haunted Live. He has also appeared on BBC's Watchdog, going on to host the spin-off Watchdog Healthcheck and the live science show Tomorrow's World. He is now a presenter on TalkTV, the news channel owned by Rupert Murdoch, which went online-only last year. Dr Bull, who reportedly backs 'binning the burka', was revealed as Reform's new chairman by the Daily Mail. He will replace Mr Yusuf, who stepped down from his position in spectacular fashion last Thursday before rejoining in a new role on Saturday. His resignation followed a disagreement within the party over whether to ban the burka, an idea he branded 'dumb'. Senior Reform figures also said that Mr Yusuf's professional style, born of his former career as a Goldman Sachs banker, had led to personality clashes at the top of the party. The former chairman will now lead Reform's so-called UK Doge team, inspired by the US Department of Government Efficiency set up by Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk. Dr Bull is also a former doctor and has written two books: Cool and Celibate? Sex and No Sex and What Every Girl Should Know. According to his website, he qualified as a doctor in 1993 and went on to work for the NHS at St Mary's Hospital, Ealing Hospital and the Whittington Hospital, all in London, in the fields of general medicine, emergency medicine and general practice. He was briefly a Brexit Party MEP and initially ran as the Tory candidate for Brighton Pavilion in 2009 before stepping down to lead a Conservative policy review on sexual health. A Reform source told the Daily Mail: 'He looks and sounds good and he's been out and proud for years, so we have no worries about any skeletons in his closet.'
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Our ‘kind and funny' Alice, 22, went into an NHS hospital to be kept safe – instead she came out dead
JANE Figueiredo's daughter Alice took her own life in an NHS hospital after more than 10 similar attempts at self-harm. The 22-year-old, who had been diagnosed with bipolar and an eating disorder, died while under care at the Hepworth Ward at Goodmayes Hospital in Redbridge. 3 3 The unit is run by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), which has only twice faced corporate manslaughter charges. Her family described the former head girl as having a "luminous, kind, thoughtful, generous, warm, humorous and deeply loving presence" and a bright future ahead of her. Despite her mental health challenges, Alice had periods where she lived a full, motivated and enthusiastic life in the community, they said. She was a member of the UK youth parliament, chair of the Havering Youth Council and worked with local police to improve relations between the youth community and police This week, following a seven-month trial at the Old Bailey, NELFT and a ward manager were found guilty of serious safety failings linked to her death. A jury concluded that not enough had been done to prevent Alice from taking her own life. Speaking outside court, her mother said: 'You are not unassailable. You are not above the law. "You need to do far, far better to stop failing those people you have a duty of care to.' She added: 'If you don't make radical changes in your conduct and attitudes towards the people you have a responsibility to care for and keep safe, then people like Alice will continue to come to serious, avoidable harm, or senselessly lose their lives. 'This is happening with impunity, time and again, behind the locked doors of wards and in the community across the country.' Living with Bipolar Disorder The court heard NELFT repeatedly failed to remove plastic bin bags from toilets on the ward, despite Alice using them in at least ten previous self-harm attempts. Ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, 53, was found guilty of failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of patients. He was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter. NELFT was convicted of failing to ensure the safety of a non-employee, but found not guilty of corporate manslaughter. Alice was first admitted to the Hepworth Ward in May 2012 with a diagnosis including non-specific eating disorder and bipolar affective disorder, jurors heard. During her time there, she used plastic bags from the same toilets to self-harm on at least ten occasions - but the court heard they were never properly removed or locked away. 3 The suicide attempts were recorded in ward notes and other hospital records. Between admissions, Alice had long periods when hospital treatment wasn't needed. She had been applying to go to university and was planning a brighter future, according to reports from the BBC. Alice was also admitted to the same ward in February 2015, where she was under close observation. Her death in July 2015 came after eight further incidents involving similar items. Benjamin, who was subject to a performance improvement plan, had failed to remove plastic bags that could be used for self-harm and failed to ensure incidents of self-harm were recorded, considered and addressed, jurors heard. 'Tragic series of inactions' Alice's stepfather Max Figueiredo said: 'We haven't got the highest charges, but we have moved the dial.' Detective Inspector Jonathan Potter, who led the Met Police investigation, said: 'They have had to endure years of heartbreak before sitting through a long and difficult trial where they heard time and time again about the tragic series of inactions that led to their daughter's death.' Priya Singh, lawyer for more than 120 families affected by mental health failings in Essex, said: 'We are of the view that Jane should now be included in the Lampard Inquiry as a Core Participant, irrespective of the verdict.' The jury deliberated for more than 125 hours. Judge Richard Marks KC thanked them for their 'immense hard work' and excused them from further jury service for life.
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Cases of imported typhoid fever reach record high in Britain
Imported cases of typhoid fever have reached a record annual high in Britain, driven in part by the spread of a drug-resistant variant of the disease in Pakistan. At least 702 imported cases of typhoid and paratyphoid fever, bacterial infections which can kill one in five if left untreated, were detected in 2024, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency. The UKHSA did not say how many people had died as a result of the diseases, which typically causes fever, headache, fatigue and muscle ache, but can also lead to severe complications including internal bleeding in the digestive system. The figures represent an eight per cent increase on the year before and the highest number recorded annually in modern times. The vast majority of cases found in the UK are acquired in South Asia, in countries with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water – including India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, which have the highest rates of typhoid globally. The disease is caused by Salmonella bacteria which spreads through contaminated food or water. Paratyphoid fever, a close cousin of typhoid, is caused by a different strain of Salmonella and can be harder to treat. Cases of typhoid have increased worldwide over the last decade, due in large part to the rise of antibiotic-resistance – where bacteria develops the ability to resist the medicine used to treat them because of repeated exposure. In Pakistan, a mutant strain of typhoid known as the XDR variant emerged and began to spread in 2016. It is resistant to almost all forms of treatment. Of the roughly nine million people who contract typhoid each year globally, the vast majority are now infected by a drug-resistant strain. While there is a typhoid vaccine, those at high risk of contracting the disease typically require a booster every three years to fight off the disease – something that can be difficult to get in low-income countries with weaker healthcare systems. While most cases are now contacted abroad, typhoid was once a major public health issue in Britain, killing roughly 16,000 people every year in the 1800s. The disease affected not only those in overcrowded slums and workhouses, but also in palaces – Prince Albert died of typhoid fever at the age of 42. It is also not the first time Typhoid has crossed international borders – one of the most famous victims of the disease was an Irish cook, Mary Mallon, who infected hundreds of people on her emigration to America. As an asymptomatic carrier of the disease, she unknowingly infected – and killed – swathes of people she worked alongside in domestic households on America's East Coast, as well as the wealthy families she cooked for. The cook was eventually forced into quarantine by authorities, where she remained for 26 years until her death. The term 'typhoid Mary' is now synonymous with the spread of the disease. To prevent infection when travelling abroad, the UKHSA recommends washing your hands before eating and taking care to avoid unsafe water supplies. They also recommend vaccination, which is available at all GP surgeries.
