A free NHS “midlife MOT” is available to adults aged 40 to 74, offering checks on blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI and waist circumference to assess cardiovascular risk, as a GP warns that high blood pressure remains symptom-free until it is “very, very late”.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is common, particularly in older adults, and “can lead to serious problems like heart attacks or strokes”, according to the NHS website. The site adds that “there are usually no symptoms, so you may not realise you have it”, which is why the condition is often described as a “silent killer”.
GP urges men to get checked ahead of Movember
Dr Hugh Coyne, private GP and co-founder of Coyne Medical in London, spoke about the importance of early checks, focusing on men ahead of Movember, the annual event in which men grow moustaches to raise awareness of men's health issues. He noted that men in the UK die on average nearly four years earlier than women from largely preventable diseases, often because they delay seeing a doctor until a problem becomes severe.
Dr Coyne said: “There is a massive window of opportunity to head off serious long-term health conditions if you get in there and get checked. It makes such a difference to people’s lives when they do that.” He added: “Look after yourself now and do something that your 80-year-old self is going to thank you for.”
Cardiovascular risk and asymptomatic disease
Among the issues he highlighted is cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, with advice aimed at middle-aged men aged 40 to 50 and over. He said men “typically get an earlier onset of coronary disease than women”, and are more likely to carry visceral fat, which is linked to higher rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and fatty liver disease.
Dr Coyne flagged that “high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease is asymptomatic until it gets very, very late. Unfortunately the first presentation of heart disease is often with a heart attack. That’s why young men need to engage with their long-term health.”
Health checks for younger and middle-aged men
The article also covers other key health issues. For young men aged 18 to 40, mental health is a concern, with nearly one in eight men experiencing depression or anxiety but fewer than half receiving treatment. Dr Coyne said men may find it difficult to seek help, and that early signs include loss of interest in activities, lack of motivation or appetite, poor sleep, overeating and substance misuse.
For middle-aged men, bowel cancer is highlighted. Most bowel cancers begin as polyps, and if diagnosed early, more than 90% of people survive for five years or more, but survival drops to 10% if diagnosis is delayed. A home test kit called a Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is sent automatically every two years to everyone aged 54 to 74, with the age range being lowered to 50 in England.
Prostate cancer and aortic aneurysm screening
For older men, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, and can be asymptomatic until a late stage. Dr Coyne noted that the main test is a digital rectal exam, and that PSA test screening is available but creates many false positives, which is why it is not nationwide. Men over 50 can request it, and Black or Afro Caribbean men over 45 can ask for it.
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are also more common in men than women, and usually have no symptoms. The NHS offers a screening programme for all men from age 65, using a quick, non-invasive ultrasound scan of the abdomen to measure the size of the aorta.
