Former MP Jonathan Ashworth urges people to check for 'silent killer'

Former Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth is campaigning for better awareness of high blood pressure after suffering a stroke on New Year's Day. The 47-year-old, who represented Leicester South from 2011 to 2024, said he was unaware he had been living with dangerously high blood pressure and that he regretted skipping routine GP health checks. Ashworth is urging people to get checked as health officials estimate 24,000 people in Leicester could unknowingly have the same "silent killer" condition. The former shadow health secretary said a check-up for hypertension - which often presents no symptoms but significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes - "could save your life". Ashworth said the moment he fell ill hit him "like a lightning bolt". "I had pins and needles but I could still speak and had no facial droop," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "Being a politician, that's a stressful lifestyle. Maybe that contributed, but I was quite healthy. "I have never smoked and I was training to run a double marathon." The stroke left Ashworth with stiffness in his left side and partial blindness. To regain movement in his hand, he has been learning the piano and recit