Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has said he believes his life may have been saved by the “professional curiosity” of a GP who suspected he had a serious heart condition. The minister spoke about his own experiences as he stated that the health service in the region will never properly cope with demand unless people take care of their own health. The health minister said, by being more active, the population could help him to turn around under-pressure services. Mr Nesbitt who was taking part in a walking football charity event in Lisburn on Sunday, said part of his ambition was to move from treating the sick to keeping people healthy. Mr Nesbitt has spoken about his heart problems diagnosed in 2016, which have led to him having two stents, a pacemaker and a defibrillator. He said: “I am certainly not the sort of weight that I should be, I am not exercising as much as I should, probably issues with my diet. “I am not trying to preach to people but I need to look after myself, I have had well publicised cardiac conditions, I have got what is so charmingly referred to as heart failure. “I have got a pacemaker, a defibrillator, that is a burden on the health service and if we could all look after our own health that would be really helpful for the health and social care system.” He added: “I felt I was healthy. My GP retired, the new GP came in and because of his personal and professional curiosity he actually discovered that there was potentially a genetic heart issue with me. “He sent me for the tests, that led to first of all two stents, then a pacemaker and a defibrillator. For all I know if the GP had not had that professional curiosity I might not be standing here today.” Speaking about the event on Sunday, Mr Nesbitt said: “It was great to be able to not only attend this event, but to take part as well. “We are fortunate in Northern to have a great many sporting and activity organisations for all ages. My health struggles of recent years are well known. I am challenging myself and everyone else to try to be a bit more active in our daily lives. “The benefits to individuals are clear, in terms of physical and mental well-being.” Mr Nesbitt said encouraging people to be more active was also important to society as a whole. He said: “While I am now investing unparalleled sums in tackling hospital waiting lists, the reality is that health services across the world are struggling to match ever growing demand for care, as people live longer lives. “My ambition as health minister includes moving focus from treating the sick to helping to keep healthy people healthy. “That’s a challenge for us all across government, as we need to ensure our environment supports and enables good health and wellbeing. “It’s also a challenge for individuals. Without a collective effort to take care of our health, services will always have difficulty keeping up with growing pressures.” He added: “There’s therefore an onus on each of us to look after our health and well-being as much as possible. “That’s not just for our own sake but also to help reduce levels of demand for care and ensure our health service can thrive into the future. “While I am very much focused on improving health services and reducing health inequalities, we also need at the same time to encourage improvements in the health of the population.” The health minister attended a walking football marathon organised by Hillsborough Walking Football Club. Walking football is for men and women over 50. The event raised money for the charity Eager Belvoirs Special Olympics Club. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.