Woman who went for simple eye test gets told she's having a heart attack without realising

When Norma Booth began suffering sudden and severe dizziness earlier this year, she was advised to book an eye test.

After all, eye strains caused by an incorrect glasses prescription can trigger balance issues, as can blurry vision caused by ailing health.

So, it's pretty common for dizziness sufferers to be referred for an eye exam or vision therapy.

After arriving at her local optician's, however, the woman from Stockport, Greater Manchester, began feeling increasingly unwell, describing the feeling as being 'detached from reality'.

In the weeks earlier, the BBC reported that she'd also 'dismissed' the fact that her latest visit to the doctors had seen her diagnosed with high blood pressure, being that it had 'always' been 'low' beforehand.

During her consultation with optician Gohar Majid, she brought this up, along with her dizziness.

Booth had been suffering with severe dizziness for some time (Getty Stock Image)

And as such, the medic suggested checking her blood pressure once again - a pilot protocol recently introduced by the NHS in some areas of England.

During the examination, Booth was dealt a brutal blow by Majid, who informed her that she was having a heart attack.

It turned out that the dizziness she was experiencing was actually caused by hypertension - a chronic condition which sees blood pressure consistently elevated.

As such, it increases the risk of the patient going on to endure heart issues (including attacks and failure), as well as strokes and kidney disease.

Thankfully, Booth was later taken to the hospital for treatment and went on to make a full recovery.

Speaking to press recently, she recalled her near-death experience, claiming she found it hard to swallow that she was under cardiac arrest, even during her journey to the hospital.

Booth had her blood pressure checked (Getty Stock Image)

"I thought when you had a heart attack, you fell on the floor and would be screaming in agony and someone would be doing 'Stayin' Alive'," she said. "But it was like in slow motion."

Now, Booth credits the NHS for having rolled out blood pressure tests as part of routine eye tests for her local area, believing this practice should be extended to other areas of the country.

Majid, her optician, has also emphasised that it's a 'common misconception' for people to believe that, if their blood pressure was previously low, it'll likely remain that way, with hypertension often flying under the radar in these individuals.

"They assume it'll be the same," he explained. "So we're not surprised when people say to us, 'I've not had my blood pressure done for a while', and expect it to be in the normal range."

Booth went on to add: "If somebody says do you want your blood pressure tested, do it. It's telling you what is wrong with your body.

"It's a miracle - absolutely a life-saver."