Millions of people could be unknowingly putting extra strain on their hearts through everyday habits they rarely think twice about.

Dr Francesco Lo Monaco, a cardiologist and author of Heart Saviour, has shared how certain silent risk factors can gradually weaken the heart over many years before symptoms appear.

“Many people assume they would know if something was wrong with their heart, but that’s often not the case,” he said.

Here are some of the most common, yet modifiable, habits he suggested could be contributing to poor heart health – and what you can do about each.

If your blood pressure remains high for months or even years, your heart will need to pump against greater resistance, the health expert explained.

“Initially the heart muscle adapts by becoming thicker, but over time these changes can affect how efficiently the heart works,” he said.

“If left untreated, this can contribute to enlargement and weakening of the heart and eventually increase the risk of heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms and other cardiovascular complications.”

This is one of the reasons high blood pressure is often described as a “silent killer”, he added, because many people have no symptoms until the damage has already begun.

GPs and some pharmacies can check blood pressure. Boots offers a free health MOT for over-40s which includes a blood pressure check. Alternatively you can buy your own blood pressure monitor and check it at home.

Blood pressure can be controlled through a series of lifestyle interventions like eating a balanced diet, regular exercise and, if you’re overweight, weight loss.

Avoiding salty food, alcohol, caffeine and smoking are also important. Some people might also benefit from taking medicine to treat the issue.

Sleep apnoea is a condition that causes repeated pauses in breathing when you’re sleeping. It’s yet another health issue that can slip under the radar.

Dr Lo Monaco warned that repeated drops in oxygen overnight increase stress on the cardiovascular system.

“Sleep apnoea doesn’t just cause tiredness,” he said. “It is strongly associated with high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms and structural changes within the heart.”

The most common symptoms include: loud snoring, noisy and laboured breathing, periods where breathing is interrupted by gasping or snoring. As a result, it’s usually first spotted by a partner, friend or family member.

People with sleep apnoea might also find they wake up with headaches, still feel tired and find it hard to concentrate.

It’s typically treated with lifestyle interventions like weight loss, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol intake, but the NHS notes many people also need a CPAP machine to help supply oxygen over night.

Heavy drinking over long periods of time can weaken the heart muscle. “Alcohol-related heart disease often develops gradually, so people may not notice any symptoms until significant damage has occurred,” said Dr Lo Monaco.

The NHS advises cutting back a little each day, and letting others know you’re doing this so they can offer support. Swap strong beers or wines for ones with a lower strength (ABV in %) and aim to have several drink-free days each week.

Regular movement helps maintain cardiovascular health. Studies have consistently found physical activity has a protective effect against heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks.

“A sedentary lifestyle doesn’t directly enlarge or weaken the heart on its own, but it contributes to several of the major risk factors that do, including obesity and high blood pressure,” said Dr Lo Monaco.

Cardiac rehab physiotherapist Helen Alexander previously told the British Heart Foundation (BHF) that three types of exercise can help strengthen heart health. These are: aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling and swimming; resistance and strength training, such as lifting weights; and exercise that improves balance and flexibility, such as tai chi and yoga.

Dr Lo Monaco concluded that if you experience breathlessness, swollen ankles, chest pain, palpitations or unexplained fatigue, you should seek medical assessment.

“The encouraging news is that many of these risk factors are modifiable,” he said. “Keeping your blood pressure under control, treating sleep apnoea, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and limiting alcohol can all reduce the strain placed on the heart over time.”

Enjoying your garden in the summer is the best. Lounging on your garden sofa or bench, reading a good book, maybe cracking open an icy cold IPA or enjoying some wine with friends… it’s truly delicious.

But wait, what’s that? You notice your plants are crawling with aphids, spiders and green flies. Your beds are being taken over with weeds. In fact, it feels like you’ve just pulled a weed out and two more have grown back. Ugh.

Thankfully there are some chemical-free ways to treat pesky problems in the garden. These weedkiller-free treatments can help protect wildlife and the other thriving plants you want to keep alive.

We have all done it. Watched a TikTok video about a health condition and thought to ourselves that, actually, we might have that too. In fact, during an average evening scroll through social media, I could probably diagnose myself with 3-5 conditions that I had never previously heard of before.

This is because, according to Josef Newton, founder of the health anxiety app Condri, our repeated exposure to rapid-form health content makes us reinterpret or even experience symptoms we hadn’t noticed before. This is called ‘symptom borrowing’.

‘Symptom borrowing’ is a term used to describe an instance where frequent exposure to somebody else’s symptoms leads you to progressively notice, reinterpret or expect similar sensations and behaviours in yourself.

“This does not mean that a person is consciously copying, pretending or imagining an illness”, says Newton.

“The sensations may feel entirely real. Instead, attention, expectation and anxiety can amplify everyday physical feelings or behaviours that previously went unnoticed.”

Additionally, because of the intelligent nature of algorithms, it only takes a small number of interactions with a topic for it to fill your feed. This can make a relatively common diagnosis feel both familiar and personally relevant.

Newton urges: “The concern here is that few content creators are medical professionals and serve anecdotal evidence only”.

Research by the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry analysed 100 TikTok videos that centred around the topic of ADHD, finding that 52% were classified as misleading. 21% were categorised as useful, whilst the misleading videos were mostly uploaded by creators who are not healthcare professionals.

“Social media often provides valuable education, language and validation, but short-form videos don’t replicate clinical assessments”, says Newton.

“Of course, TikTok can be the reason a user recognises a genuine problem and seeks support, which is a positive. It becomes problematic when recognition evolves into monitoring. Once you have learnt a list of symptoms, your brain may begin to search for them.”

One of the clearest and simplest warning signs is that you cannot remember being concerned about a symptom until you watched a video describing it.

You may watch a video, and after acknowledging a particular condition, consciously or subconsciously scan your body, memory or behaviour to obtain supporting evidence. For instance, a person who watches content about chronic shoulder pain may suddenly grow conscious of every change in their arms and shoulders. Someone watching videos about a short attention span may begin recording every occasion where they become distracted.

Such eventualities often align with selective attention. In other words, when the brain decides that a sensation or behaviour is important, it becomes easier to detect.

“A great example of this is if somebody asks you to notice how your tongue feels in your mouth; it suddenly becomes difficult to ignore”, Newton explains.

“The sensation was always there, but attention has made it prominent. Health videos can replicate a similar effect.”

Great, now I’m aware of my tongue all over again.

However, he urges: “This does not prove that a symptom is insignificant, but timing matters. Ask yourself whether it existed consistently before you encountered the content, whether other people had noticed it and whether it caused meaningful difficulty in your everyday life.”

A clear signal that you’re symptom borrowing is if your health concern regularly evolves or changes according to whatever symptoms are dominating your For You Page.

One week, tiredness and poor concentration may signal ADHD, whereas the next indicate burnout, long COVID, or low iron. Essentially, rather than beginning with a stable pattern of difficulties and seeking an explanation, the diagnosis arrives first, and your experiences are moulded around it.

Watching a video once may prompt useful reflection. Repeatedly checking yourself afterwards may serve as symptom borrowing.

This might involve monitoring your pulse, examining your skin, testing your memory, comparing your behaviour with online checklists or repeatedly asking friends whether they have noticed a particular trait. The NHS lists frequent body checking, seeking reassurance, and obsessively looking at health information among the behaviours associated with health anxiety.

“If you find yourself always checking your symptoms, make an effort to ask yourself what the checking is achieving and what is your objective,” Newton advises.

“If checking your symptoms or watching another video calms you for only a few minutes before you need to do it again, it is probably maintaining the fear rather than answering it.”

To hold the viewers’ attention, short-form health videos are designed for viewers to quickly recognise themselves. As a result, general and ultimately common experiences such as procrastinating, feeling awkward at parties or becoming tired after socialising may be positioned as symptoms of a certain condition.

Someone caught in a symptom-borrowing cycle may accumulate several possible diagnoses, even when those labels are based on disconnected traits rather than one clear clinical history. They may even begin rewriting ordinary memories through the lens of the content they have consumed.

“It’s important to recognise relatability Vs diagnostic accuracy”, says Newton.

“Content reels rarely provide context and instead focus solely on the result. Rather than asking how many online symptoms you can match, consider three things: how long they have been present, whether they appear in several areas of your life and whether they create significant impairment.”

Reliable health information should help you understand your options and decide whether to seek appropriate support. Symptom borrowing tends to do the opposite.

You may finish one video feeling reassured, only for the next to introduce a new symptom, exception or worst-case scenario. You save dozens of posts, read the comments for confirmation and continue scrolling because certainty always appears to be one more video away.

Newton advises: “Pay attention to how you feel after consuming the content. If you are more frightened, confused or compelled to keep searching, the videos are no longer functioning as useful health education.

“Set a clear boundary: write down the concern, step away from symptom content and consult an appropriate professional or reputable medical source. One qualified conversation is likely to be more useful than another hour of conflicting videos.”

Symptom borrowing should never be used to dismiss a new, persistent or worsening health problem. Short-form content can sometimes help people recognise symptoms they had previously overlooked, particularly where a condition has historically been misunderstood.

However, social media should be treated as a prompt to seek reliable information, not as a diagnostic tool.

Comedian Russell Howard has announced that his baby son, Felix, died earlier this year.

In an emotional social media post shared on Friday morning, Russell explained that he and his wife, Cerys, had suffered a devastating loss, which has now inspired them to help others in similar situations.

“Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth,” Russell wrote. “During the most devastating time of our lives, the hospital staff who cared for us showed extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity. They helped us navigate an unimaginable heartache and gave us support when we needed it most.”

He explained: “We were assigned a bereavement midwife, Lauren, who had experienced a similar tragedy. After losing her own baby, Lauren retrained as a midwife so that she could help other families going through what she had been through. Her care meant more to us than we can ever put into words.

“During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cool cot, which meant that my wife and I were able to spend precious hours with our beautiful boy. We could hold him, talk to him and tell him just how much we loved him. Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix.

“We were overwhelmed by the care we received, and we made a promise to each other: that we would try to help other families who find themselves facing the same devastating circumstances.”

As a result, the couple have launched a charity in their late son’s memory, named The Felix Foundation, which will endeavour to help families “affected by miscarriage premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement”.

The Felix Foundation’s aims include “sSupporting the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care”, “funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance”, “providing or funding dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources within hospitals, maternity units, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings” and “raising awareness of late miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal loss and related bereavement”, as well as “the support needs of affected families”.

Russell noted: “The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly, every single day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy may help other families through the darkest moments of their lives.”

In his post, Russell announced that a charity gala in aid of The Felix Foundation would take place at London’s O2 Arena on Monday 8 February, the line-up for which currently includes John Bishop, Jimmy Carr and Aisling Bea, among others.

The former Mock The Week panellist and his wife are also parents to a two-year-old son.

“I’ve never been happier or more tired than I’ve felt since becoming a dad,” he told The i last year. “The other day, my son came up to me and just put his head on my inner arm and relaxed into me. It gave me this cosmic feeling of otherworldly happiness. So simple and obvious. I thought, ‘Isn’t it amazing what we human beings can do for each other’.”

• Sands works to support anyone affected by the death of a baby.
• Tommy’s fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, and provide pregnancy health information to parents.
• Saying Goodbye offers support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.

Ministers have hit back at Argentina after the country’s president Javier Milei renewed his country’s supposed claim over the Falkland Islands.

In an overnight national address, Milei alleged “winds of change favourable” to Argentina were “blowing around the world” after Donald Trump hinted he could reconsider the US’s position on the British overseas territory.

Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the archipelago which it calls “Las Malvinas”, even though the Falkland population overwhelmingly voted to remain British in a 2013 referendum.

Milei also threatened to issue sanctions on oil companies near the south Atlantic islands, claiming they were working “under the British occupation”.

Production at the Sea Lion oilfield in the region, which is owned by an Israeli and a British firm, is due to begin in 2028.

But UK defence secretary Wes Streeting said on X: “Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands.

“The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable.”

Foreign secretary Ed Miliband said this week that the UK’s position was “unwavering”.

He added that the islands are “British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the islanders.”

“Their right of self-determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it,” Miliband said.

In a referendum in 2013, 99.8% of Falkland Islanders voted to remain British.

Labour MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee, Emily Thornberry, also wrote on X: “President Trump would be well advised to put more thought and effort into a negotiated resolution of his war with Iran and less into trying to pick fights with one of America’s oldest and most loyal allies. #Falklands.”

The rising tensions come after the US president suggested America would not support the UK in a future conflict over the Falklands.

He told GB News that Britain was “not there to help me” with the Iran conflict, referring to Keir Starmer’s refusal to send a warship to help America re-open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said earlier this week that he was “reviewing” America’s position on the Falklands, too.

Overnight, Milei said: “I want to be quite clear with everybody. The Falklands are Argentinian. Historically and legally.

“There can be no argument. They are part of the Argentine territory.

“The islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid.”

Milei said Trump and the US was “assessing their historical position in regard to the Falklands”.

“That is not empty words as they understand that Argentina is a reliable partner and a valuable ally for decades to come,” he said

“Our role and relevance as a country in the world has changed dramatically.

“The Falklands are our future – we need to recover these islands which are nationally relevant. There is no other path forward.

“It is the best way of paying tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for this cause. It is our obligation as a nation to honour their memory.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Nigel Farage has insisted Reform UK has done “nothing wrong” after a sting operation raised questions over the party’s foreign donations.

Speaking just as Reform’s annual conference begins in Birmingham, the party leader tried to shrug off an explosive undercover report from Channel 4 News which has already caused two of his aides to step down.

Investigative journalists from Verbatim have accused the party of allegedly taking funding from a US company to commission three supposedly independent polls at £32,500 earlier this year.

Reform’s head of policy James Orr and Farage’s close aide Dan Jukes organised the donation. They were unaware the donors were actually undercover reporters from the investigative group Verbatim.

The journalists, posing as an American father and his British son “William Lockwood”, also suggested donating £500,000 to Reform UK.

British electoral law says political donations can only be made by someone eligible to vote in the UK or a UK-registered company.

Jukes allegedly proposed a way for them to work around the law by sending the US funds via the British son.

Farage spoke out for the first time about the investigation on Friday morning, telling LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: “The party has broken no laws. The party has not taken any dodgy money or anything like that whatsoever.”

He accused the reporters of “entrapment” after getting “a couple of our contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said”.

The Clacton MP admitted: “I’m not happy about it.”

He also defended the polls themselves, saying: “There’s no question of illegality over the polling whatsoever.

“Whilst the poll benefited Reform, it wasn’t commissioned by Reform. It had nothing to do with Reform.”

He also claimed “the polling is not even an issue”, adding: “The party has not done anything wrong, but entrapped conversations don’t look good, and that’s why we’ve taken the action we have.”

On his top allies stepping down, Farage added: “The issue is when they talked about putting money in that might have come originally from America… But on the face of it, they said things that shouldn’t have been said.”

Reform UK has launched an internal investigation over the incident.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.