Hypertension/ High Blood Pressure

hinault

I take my blood pressure readings three times per day - at the same time each day.

My family have a history of high blood pressure and it is more a preventative step (in taking those readings) on my part.

My BP readings can vary between 150/130 to over 90/80.
The ideal measurement reading is 120/80.

I do notice that the more fit I am, the closer my reading measurements get closer to 120/80.


It is important to take some simple steps to rectify high blood pressure.
Make sure to exercise regularly and to control your foot intact.
Try to increase your intake of potassium (fresh fruit and vegetables and fruit) are excellent sources of potassium.
Potassium is the antidote to sodium (salt).
Try to cut out your sodium (salt) intake.

DrIndy

It's great that you're getting the ultrasound for your kidneys, hopefully they'll be fine, and for me it was a great relief to know that no damage had been done to them by the high blood pressure. My ultrasound was pretty scary to be honest, I was fine going into it but then the radiologist was looking at the left one for ages and ages at different angles, before telling me that there appeared to be a "lump" on it and she had to go show the scans to a consultant! I was lying there freaking out for about twenty minutes before she came back and told me that the "lump" was just part of my spleen!

Incidentalomas (harmless things found incidentally) as we call them are quite common in the kidney and liver on any scan and are usually harmless fat clusters or cysts - sometimes people then get CTs and other scans to double check they are indeed normal.

Not to worry - sounds like they got the top doc to double check!

Feel free to post up any general questions you have on hypertension on this thread and I will be happy to help explain things further for you.

Clementine

bloodpressure.ie was launched this week which has a few tips about managing blood pressure. They also have a link a new free website dontforget.ie which is text service for reminding you to take your tablets.

Also, article in the Irish Times on Tuesday about High BP in Ireland:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2010/0518/1224270592868.html

SeaSide

DrIndy wrote: »

Feel free to post up any general questions you have on hypertension on this thread and I will be happy to help explain things further for you.

Hi DrIndy,

Quick question about hypertension and heart rate.

To my (engineering) mind if you have a slow heart rate and assuming the same amount of blood has to be pumped the only way to do this is to increase the pressure or am i completely wrong?

Thanks

DrIndy

You are right and you are wrong!

There are several components to this. The heart can increase its speed and its contractile strength increasing cardiac output as well as the arteries contracting to increase blood pressure. The best way to explain is through an introductory chapter on vascular (blood vessel) physiology as there are interlinked processes and images asre easier to follow.

But it is not completely straight forwards - in natural periods of stress - adrenaline is released which increases blood pressure but also relaxes blood vessels in muscles and increases the pressure in the gut and this diverts blood to where its needed.

High blood pressure (the bad sort that doesn't leave you) is caused by pathology and is not only due to the tensing of the blood vessels but also why the heart increases its output when it doesn't need to and the linking of various hormones like ACTH, Angiotensin, renin, aldosterone, natriuretic peptide, catecholamines and the dysregulation which allows the disease to form. No one actually fully understands why people get essential hypertension (ie - no secondary cause). Hence it is an interesting subject.

talkin

i've had high blood pressure-even had the 24hr monitor thing on my arm. but yesterday and today i checked it because i was feeling dizzy and tired and thought it might have been up but it seems low now. i dont know if its very low though. im 27 yr olf female and iv never been on blood pressure meds-my high blood pressure was been monitered but i stopped going to doc to be honest. a few of my readings throughout yesterday and today are 109over63 pulse49. 115over66 pulse47. 122over66 pulse52. 111over68 pulse50. 115over67 pulse55. 99over63 pulse 54. 101over62 pulse 54. 105over59 pulse53. 104over60 pulse56. 110over59 pulse62. 107over63 pulse60. 106over68 pulse 56. 105over61 pulse 58. 107over63 pulse 57. 101over56 pulse53. 103over59 pulse54. 101 over58 pulse51. 118over63 pulse 59. i know i took it alot does anybody think this is normal or what?

mickman

talkin wrote: »

i've had high blood pressure-even had the 24hr monitor thing on my arm. but yesterday and today i checked it because i was feeling dizzy and tired and thought it might have been up but it seems low now. i dont know if its very low though. im 27 yr olf female and iv never been on blood pressure meds-my high blood pressure was been monitered but i stopped going to doc to be honest. a few of my readings throughout yesterday and today are 109over63 pulse49. 115over66 pulse47. 122over66 pulse52. 111over68 pulse50. 115over67 pulse55. 99over63 pulse 54. 101over62 pulse 54. 105over59 pulse53. 104over60 pulse56. 110over59 pulse62. 107over63 pulse60. 106over68 pulse 56. 105over61 pulse 58. 107over63 pulse 57. 101over56 pulse53. 103over59 pulse54. 101 over58 pulse51. 118over63 pulse 59. i know i took it alot does anybody think this is normal or what?

a more normal thing would be for you to stop taking your blood pressure and live your life. you are 27 for goodness sake

talkin

easier said than done mickman when you've had high bloodpressure. wouldnt have checked it if i hadnt been feeling dizzy.

mickman

talkin wrote: »

easier said than done mickman when you've had high bloodpressure. wouldnt have checked it if i hadnt been feeling dizzy.

none of the measurements you provided above show a blood pressure problem. for you to feel dizzy it would have to be in the region of less that 90 / 50

bit of hypochondria id say :-)

talkin

no way! if you knew me ud know i defo dont suffer from hypochondria(not even sure how to spell it!)im the last person to go to the doc over anything.....but thanks for your reply

mickman

talkin wrote: »

no way! if you knew me ud know i defo dont suffer from hypochondria(not even sure how to spell it!)im the last person to go to the doc over anything.....but thanks for your reply

u have measured your bp about 15 times over two days. thats excessive. if your feeling tired why would it be linked to your bp? it could be anything. anxiety i would say

talkin

because iv had cholesterol reading of 7.8 with high bloodpressure and i thought it might have been playing up again.

mickman

thats a fair high reading for someone your age. how did you manage that?

talkin

my hypochondria or stress i suppose(oh anxiety)

cynder

Those bp measurement are very like mine. ( i take mine for the fun of it as my husband has high bp and has to check his regularly)

I get dizzy if i skip a meal (low blood sugars) or get up to quick or i have an ear infection, never down to my BP which is always in the low 60's. Heartbeat can be anything from 60-100, which is normal.

I do have high LDL.

Im 30 and female and slightly overweight (thanx to my 3rd baby)

sam34

talkin, please see your GP rather than looking for & taking advice from randomers on the internet

mickman, please do not give medical advice here.

Clementine

Hi all, OP here.

Just wondering how everyone's getting on with their BP management?

I haven't been on boards in ages due to more health problems (including a wisdom tooth surgery, ouch!).

I had my kidney ultrasound and was told that everything is normal. After consulting with my GP she thought the best thing to do would be to monitor the BP her practice as its under control with the medication and there's no other contributing factors. It's such a relief to not have to go back to the hospital to do another 24hr monitor and all of the stress of the inconsistencies in there that go with it.

Given I'm finally back on track healthwise I'm starting proper exercise tonight- one of those outdoors fitness boot-camp style classes (but this one seems friendly, no shouting while doing press-ups! ). I'm a bit nervous as I have had experiences with this medication of feeling a bit faint or lightheaded if I've overdone it a bit- any advice?

cynder

Well my husband has just been called into hospital, long story


Docs changed his meds 3 weeks ago, since then high bp, arrhythmia and tachycardia, stopped meds last week and he has got no better, in fact its getting worse.

bp max 140/90 sometimes a bit less
pulse always over 100 average 125 max 130
palpitations all the the time
chest pains


Will let you know how he gets on, recon he will be kept in so they can do a whole heart check up, ecg, ultrasound and anything else they think of.

pauline fayne

Hi all, I have been taking Istin for the last ten years for high blood pressure . Had some bouts of dizziness over the last few months , very brief , but i thought i might buy a home monitor . Have researched them on the internet but have a problem deciding on the cuff size . I measured my upper arm as 12 inches which is the upper limit of the medium cuff but the lower limit of the large . I have seen it mentioned on many sites that too small or too large a cuff will give inaccurate readings . Anyone got any idea ??

cynder

When my husband got his bp monitor the chemist took him into a private room and tested the monitor and cuff on him, he had to order the larger cuff, i use his cuff and my arm is not that big and it gives correct readings (between 107/61 and 118/67). The chemist should advise you on the correct cuff size. Keep it in mind that you need to be able to stick you finger between the cuff and your skin as its not supposed to be tight or loose when you put it on. As I said do a test run at the chemist.



*I've never seen a doctor change the bp cuff, I bet you never have either, 1 size fits all at the hospital/doctors office.

pauline fayne

grindelwald wrote: »

When my husband got his bp monitor the chemist took him into a private room and tested the monitor and cuff on him, he had to order the larger cuff, i use his cuff and my arm is not that big and it gives correct readings (between 107/61 and 118/67). The chemist should advise you on the correct cuff size. Keep it in mind that you need to be able to stick you finger between the cuff and your skin as its not supposed to be tight or loose when you put it on. As I said do a test run at the chemist.



*I've never seen a doctor change the bp cuff, I bet you never have either, 1 size fits all at the hospital/doctors office.

Thanks Grindelwald . I only asked the price of a monitor in our local chemists (120 euro ) , I have checked the validated list of monitors on the British Hypertension website and found that i can buy many of these online for less than 30 euro , hence the cuff size dilemma !
I have only once seen a cuff changed , - excellent point . Thanks again ,
Pauline .

cynder

Just to say when you buy the monitor it comes with the medium cuff so you could order the large cuff as a separate, that's what my hubby did.

If your getting it on the Internet it could be a different story, best of luck.

dollydishmop

A casual mention to your GP can some times work wonders...I think I slipped into conversation once that the cuff on my personal BP monitor was too small...and she gave me a spare large cuff that she had in her cupboard

pauline fayne

Thanks Grindelwald and dollydishmop , I ordered one and it worked out at 29 euro , they also sell the large cuff seperately but hopefully i wont need it- if i do i will follow dollydishmops example first !

bernyh

Hi

I have been diagnosed with chronic hypertension, when i had my dd they should have refered me and didn't, I'm now seeing a specialist at beaumont hosp who has put me on blopress plus, the strongest medication in it's category at the strongest possible dosage.. it's making me really sick but it is bringing my bp down, I was presenting at 248/165 at some stages and on checking with gp yest it was 146/94 I was delighted, but I would really love to have another child and this medication is not recommended when trying to conceive... anyone any suggestions for new meds... ?

sam34

we can't suggest any medications here. discuss with your gp or consultant

BenEadir

Hi All,

I'm a 42 year old 6ft male and have been on medication for hypertension for 15 years. I'm a little heavy for my height (94kg) but have a good excercise regime and run regularly including the odd 5km or 10km race/fun run.

Diet would be average with good(ish) food during the week and at least one takeaway at the weekend or possibly two + a little chocolate and crisps etc during the week. Drink wise I love a few beers and would probably consume about 10 pints a week on average, some weeks less, some weeks more. I have a fairly stressful job so a few beers a couple of times a week helps me to relax, as does excercising to be fair.

I have a theory that my BP is directly related to stressful situations more so than my physical condition.

Was watching the Leinster V Northampton match at home on TV today. Had about 4 bottles of beer on board at half time and after Leinster scored their 2nd try 12 minutes into the 2nd half we all went mental as we knew we were back in the match. It suddenly dawned on me to take my blood pressure there and then and it came in at 190 over 133 with a HR of 93 which is pretty high.

About 10 minutes after the match ended when we had all settled down I decided to take my BP reading again and this time the reading was 99 over 63 with a HR of 64.

How the hell can my BP effectively halve in 30 minutes and is it something normal or something to worry about?

FYI I take 20mg of Micardis daily.

Looking forward to your insight!!!

Ben

sam34

Ben, we don't and can't comment on personal medical queries. speak to your gp if you are concerned.

BenEadir

Not concerned at all Sam, I've been living with this for 15 years and understand the forum rules ref medical advice etc

Just curious to get peoples thoughts on how BP can halve in 30 minutes!

Ben

sam34

BenEadir wrote: »

is it something normal or something to worry about? Ben

BenEadir wrote: »

Not concerned at all Sam, I've been living with this for 15 years and understand the forum rules ref medical advice etc Ben