Eye test revealed patient’s silent stroke that occurred during sleep

Vision Express has urged members of the public to have an eye examination after a blurry patch in a woman’s vision was due to a silent stroke she had in her sleep.

Sandra Gleeson, 71, realised when playing bingo that she could no longer see the right side of some numbers due to blurriness caused by a damaged vein in her eye.

Vision Express optometrist Matthew Gee-Smith said: ‘Sandra was concerned about a distorted patch of vision in her right eye and she did the right thing by coming in for an appointment. I could see there was central visual field loss, so I issued an emergency referral to Sunderland Eye Infirmary for further testing. It’s always better to be sure and I’m glad to hear she’s now recovering.’