“That’s the trigger for them to go, ‘Oh, my gosh, maybe I need to get myself checked out?’“I would say that about 70% of men firmly believe there’s nothing wrong with them until something happens.”Instead, as Kelly has often found, many men ignore or find excuses for key health warning signs which can appear in midlife. “Lots of people get chest pains from indigestion, or perhaps if you’ve played sport or done some heavy lifting,” says Kelly. “Some 15% of men with erectile dysfunction will have a heart attack seven years later,” says Byrne. “Getting your eyesight checked in midlife can actually help identify something like high blood pressure,” he says. Cancer warning signsIn Ireland, Byrne says 90% of all cancers in middle-aged men are either prostate, lung, bowel, or melanoma.

Source: Irish Examiner January 16, 2026 14:00 UTC