Hylton Smith, now 46, thought he was “unbreakable” before suffering a double stroke at age 34. The Shropshire dad woke up one morning unable to speak and later learned he had a congenital heart defect that may have caused the stroke.
Smith worked in construction and played rugby, but admits the rugby lifestyle involved a lot of drinking and junk food. He gave no real thought to his health until the stroke in 2014.
Waking up unable to speak
In 2014, Smith woke up with a blinding headache that “felt like someone was putting a six-inch nail through my right temple”. He felt confused and disoriented, and went into his then 18-month-old daughter Darcy's room, where he realised he was dribbling on her.
His wife Hayley found him there twenty minutes later. When she asked if he was OK, Smith tried to respond but could only talk gibberish. She drove him to hospital, where doctors thought he was having a migraine and sent him home with painkillers. He slept for 23 hours, and the pain remained.
Double stroke diagnosis
Smith then saw his GP, who suspected a stroke. He paid for a private scan to speed things up, as his doctor advised that in the first 28 days after a stroke, you are more susceptible to having another. Four days later, he was told he had actually had a double stroke, and was prescribed blood thinners.
The scan also revealed he had a hole in his heart that had been present since birth, which he had no prior knowledge of. For the next year, his speech remained slurred, and even today he struggles with memory and finding words.
Lifestyle change and weight loss
In 2015, Smith had an operation to patch the hole in his heart. Prior to the operation, he weighed 16.5 stone and lost 1.5 stone to have the procedure. However, giving up rugby after the operation and a sedentary recovery led him to regain weight. By September 2025, he weighed 18st 11lbs, his “heaviest ever”.
Fearing he might not see his daughter grow up, Smith joined Man v Fat, a football league for overweight men. Since September 2025, he has lost 15% of his body weight, bringing it down to 15st 8lb. He maintains an active lifestyle through football and running.
Advice to other men
“I just kick myself that I waited for the wake-up call before getting things in place – I wish I’d listened to people who gave you advice throughout life to lose weight or just maintain your weight, but instead it was more clever to go out and eat that extra kebab!” Smith told PA Real Life.
He added: “Your body’s not unbreakable. Sadly, my wake-up call was from having a stroke, but I’m sure I could have avoided it or helped to avoid it if I’d have just taken my health a bit more seriously. So, still go out and have your party, still live life and experience lots of new things, but just try and take it a bit more seriously.”
