View Full Version : Feeling stressed about heart.
Hey guys, I been checking my BP regularly again as I haven't checked it for a while.
But last week I checked it and it was perfectly fine, around 115-120 & 75-82 area.
I been feeling slightly stressed over the last few days and my heart rate doesn't seem to be going down like it's always staying around 80. But it's okay now as it's around 70. Normal resting HR for me is 50-60.
My HA first actually started off with me obsessing over my heart and I grew out of it, but now it seems like it's back.
Everytime I check my BP (for the last 3 days) it's been quite high..150/95 then 140/90 I checked it this morning and it wasn't too bad.. I did it 3 times but the best one was 123/87. (I am on BP meds & I'm 22 Doctors are currently looking for what's causing the BP but I've had MRI and ECHO scans ect done) can conginental heart defect go undetected from MRI and ECHO?
That's one of my main causes as even when I don't want to but I'll always end up young men my age 20-22 dieing of heart disease.
And as I have high BP and the doctors don't really know (yet) what's causing it it's always at the back of my mind. Currently I have to do urine tests for cushing syndrome but I'm not showing any signs of that disease. If these tests come out clear then they said they will bring it down to genetics.
My husband has had high bp since he was 17, with meds it runs about 135/85. His is genetic, his cholesterol and general heart health is fine. He is 36 now and still very fit other than the bp. An ECHO would show defects, I had suspected mitral valve prolapse when I was a kid and they used an ECHO to see that it was fine and normal.
Between the echo and mri, I can't think of anything congenital that wouldn't have shown up. Echo for chambers and valves, and mri for coronary arteries. I'm 21 and my bp has been all over the place since I got sick. Four months ago I was hypotensive, and since then it's been as high as 147 (and maybe higher; i don't have a home checker thing). I probably have a condition called pots syndrome that's been causing everything to go haywire (or rather I have pots syndrome because my nervous system's gone haywire). My symps started after a bad flu, which often happens.
Have docs discussed dysautonomia (also called autonomic dysfunction) with you at all? Messed up autoregulation causes blood pressure weirdness as one of its main probs, and it often effects people in their twenties, though more commonly women. The high resting heart rate can also go with it (does for me). But anxiety in and of itself can cause spikes in blood pressure and faster heart rate too. Also, have they checked you for a pheochromocytoma (adrenal tumour)? They checked me for that, and one of its main symps is high blood pressure, though it's pretty rare. Whatever the cause, there's plenty of blood pressure meds out there, so try not to worry too much.
I assume it's not possible you're just eating too much salt lately? Seems like the first thing they would have checked I suppose.
Hello, thanks for both the replies it's really helped me.
As for adrenal tumor, that's what the doctors are currently checking me for right now, I did to 24hr urine tests and 1 came back fine, the other high, and another just slightly high. But as I'm not showing any signs of cushing syndrome the doctor is adament that I don't have it, but I have to do 3 more 24hr urine tests without taking protein shakes and see if that helps (the doctor said the protein shake could have been causing the result to go high as he doesn't know what's in it)
The doctors did say it could even be with the treatment I recieved for cancer when I was 16, but they said it's very unlikely that's the cause because normally your BP will go down eventually.
My BP has been high since I was around 17 or so.
As for my diet, I hardly have any salt what so ever, I generally cook my own food and only sometimes eat what everyone else is if it fits into my diet. Even with chips ect if I do eat them I will never have salt. I get my salt from other foods such as cheese.
Ah, so they're checking your catecholamines generally and not just your cortisol? Weird about the urine tests; didn't know they could be so inconsistent. Mine came back normal and I was really expecting it not to (not necessarily for a tumour, but for other reasons), but I was having a really not symptomatic day when I did it. If you've had probs since your treatment, it could deffo be autonomic dysfunction cos it usually happens after a physical trauma like that. Not that it matters really; atm they'd just treat it the same way whether it was that or genetic.
Well I'm not sure, I know they've bought up both when I'm talking to them, one urine test has acid and the other doesn't? But i've got 3 I have to do.
I've also got to do a cortisol mouth swab test which they sent in the post recently.
Do these tests show signs of a tumor? if not then why don't they just check for a tumor using MRI or something?
The doctor that I had last time, in the endocrine department said it's likely to be a false positive result, meaning it was high but it shouldn't have been (i think) I've seen so many different doctors in different department I lose track myself.
Hmm. I think the acid one would be for the catecholamines; mine had acid. That would be for the tumour. Yeah I don't know why they don't just do a scan; would seem a lot simpler, but also a lot more expensive probably. You can have abnormally high stress hormones for other reasons too i suppose. An adrenal tumour produces excess adrenaline and cortisol, whereas cushing's syndrome is just the term for excess cortisol afaik. Though i suppose an adrenal tumour could...give you cushing's syndrome? Idk. The mayo clinic site had some good info about what the tests are looking for exactly.
Pretty sure I do have the hyperadrenergic version of pots though; seeing an endo soon. Know what it's like to lose track of tests and specialists and appointments :-/
I don't think they would shy away from an MRI or some sort, I've had so many scans done, it's unbelievable lol, I've even had to go cheltenham to have a PET scan.
I'm pretty sure they done a fully body MRI when I first when to the heart institution so I'm guessing they would have found a tumor then.
And I think cushing syndrome is caused by a tumor on the adrenal gland, from what I've read.
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