BBC doctor tells all over-35s to buy £20 tester after Eamonn Holmes stroke

BBC doctor tells all over-35s to buy £20 tester after Eamonn Holmes strokeA commonly undiagnosed heart condition is leading to a rise in stroke cases in younger people in the UKComments3amBen Hurst07:58, 16 Apr 2026Updated 07:59, 16 Apr 2026View ImageEamonn Holmes is recovering in hospital after suffering from a stroke(Image: @GBNEWS)A BBC doctor has given a warning to anyone over the age of 35 over rising cases of a type of heart problem which could lead to strokes in the wake of presenter Eamonn Holmes being hospitalised. Dr Mark Porter who has appeared on The One Show and on Radio 4’s Inside Health spoke out as the 66-year-old GB News star suffered a stroke at home last week.‌Eamonn, who also presented GMTV and Sunrise on Sky News is reportedly sitting up in bed in hospital now after falling ill. Dr Porter said that a heart condition was being seen in people much younger these days, and warned they need to be aware of symptoms and lifestyle choices which impact on the issue.‌Writing in The Times, Dr Porter said: “When reading about the TV presenter Eamonn Holmes’s hospitalisation after a stroke, my first thought was ‘he’s only 66”’. I am just three years younger than Holmes but, even with my skewed perspective, 66 still feels young to have a stroke, albeit not as unusual as you might think. Indeed strokes in the middle-aged are on the rise, while those in older people are becoming less common.”‌Data from the Oxford Vascular Study, which followed nearly 100,000 adults living in Oxfordshire over the past two decades, showed a 67 per cent increase in stroke incidence during the study period among adults under 55, compared with a 15 per cent drop in those over 55. The latest statistics from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme show that 1 in 6 strokes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland now occur in people under 60.Strokes occur when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted, typically due to a blockage in the arteries supplying the brain, known...