Buckinghamshire couple urge routine blood pressure checks after surviving strokes
Gary and Samantha Tomlin stress the importance of home monitoring to prevent severe health issues
A couple from Buckinghamshire who've both suffered a stroke are urging people to keep a blood pressure monitor at home and regularly check their readings.
Gary Tomlin, a 70-year-old resident of Newton Blossomville in Buckinghamshire, suffered a stroke in May 2025. when his wife Samantha's quickly recognised symptoms and checked his blood pressure, which was dangerously high.
The couple had been preparing for a family barbecue when Gary became unwell. Samantha, having had a stroke herself the year before, noticed changes in his speech and checked his blood pressure.
Though Gary’s initial symptoms appeared mild, it was his high blood pressure which indicated severity. He was taken to Luton & Dunstable Hospital, where a serious brain bleed was diagnosed.
Samantha said: “Gary had popped out to get some last-minute provisions and when he came back I immediately knew something wasn’t quite right.
“He wasn’t slurring, but his speech was very different. I got him to touch his nose, raise his hands – which he could do – but then I took his blood pressure and it was sky high.”
Now nearly fully recovered, Gary stresses the importance of having a blood pressure monitor at home.
He said: “I think it would be great if every household had a blood pressure monitor”.
“It helped us that day having it to hand, so Sam could take my blood pressure reading. We then realised the severity of what might be happening because my initial symptoms seemed mild”, he adds.
Monitoring blood pressure can help prevent not only strokes but also heart attacks, kidney disease, vascular dementia, and early death.
South Central Ambulance Service says checking blood pressure is simple and lifesaving – and recommends that adults over 40 should aim to check at least once a year using home monitors or by visiting their GP or local pharmacy.