Stephen Monaghan, from Millisle in County Down, had a severe stroke at just 50 years old which sadly may have been preventable. Stephen is sharing his story in the run up to World Hypertension Day (17th May) in support of local health charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s (NICHS) current blood pressure awareness campaign.

Every Wednesday morning Eleanor Smyth, 69, from Ballymena, gives up her time to help others, volunteering at health charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s (NICHS) local Post Rehab Exercise Programme (PREP) group. Eleanor knows all too well how much the charity can help people post stroke, as she completed three cycles of the programme after having a life-changing stroke 18 months ago.

NICHS was at Tesco Ballymena last week as part of the charity’s current blood pressure awareness campaign which aims to raise awareness about the number of people living with undetected high blood pressure, and the fact 1 in 2 heart attacks and strokes are linked to the condition.

We have launched new accessibility software on our website, ReachDeck from technology creator Everway (formerly Texthelp), which will improve user experience.

Beechvale Nursing Home share their success story of how free support from NICHS's Work Well Live Well programme has helped them to prioritise the health of their staff!