When Morven Lean visited her GP for a contraceptive pill check-up aged 24 in 2015, days before she was due to go travelling in South America, the last thing she expected was a hospital stay.
But a follow-up call from her family doctor left her plans in tatters.
Urged to take a second blood pressure check, she was rushed to A&E and admitted with sky high numbers.
Despite coming off the pill, her readings remained dangerously elevated, and she was diagnosed with essential hypertension – where no specific cause is identified. With no family history of the condition, it came as a shock for the now 34-year-old mother-of-two, pictured left.
'I was super young and super fit, winning half marathons regularly,' says Morven. 'Every doctor I saw said, "You're not our usual patient."'
