View Full Version : Blood pressure
I have been experiencing higher and higher blood pressure. It is now to a point where I sit down at the machine and I begin to worry and this just makes my bp worse. After I sit there for a while and retest a few times, my bp lowers to a more acceptable level but still not as low as it should be. It will be like 140/130 then just a minute or two later it will be 125/77
A little background, I am middle aged (47) male about 1 stone overweight but I workout almost daily (some cardio or weights). I have had some issues with kidney function in the last year but not to the point where the doctors are doing anything besides watch and wait. I also quit smoking 39 days ago. I have had HA, gerd and IBS for years. I am not on any medications besides daily fibre and a probiotic.
I am officially worried about this and I am making myself a bit batty. Any kind of guidance would be great.
J2
There's a reason the instructions for taking your blood pressure at home asks you to sit for at least 5 minutes in a comfortable chair, and then take your blood pressure multiple times over the course of 10-15 minutes.
Looks like you've discovered why ;)
Hey there ,
I myself suffer with high blood pressure have done on and off for a while now.. My Gp monitors it every few weeks and it will come down to a nice acceptable level then will shoot back up after a few weeks, I have been told recently that if my blood pressure doesn't come down nicely at next appointment then i will have to be put on tablets to help bring it down..
But being anxious doesn't really help with blood pressure being high just got to try and relax yourself before taking your blood pressure to aim to get a good reading
Just went and worked out and feel terrible. I do appreciate the comments though. Some days I just don't hold together well.
CHELLEB1017
30-01-18, 20:39
I am on a med for my BP and if im anxious it is always in the 140/90 range but on my non anxious days it sits at 117/70. It is all anxiety!
Well I'm going to add another thought to this -
It will be like 140/130 then just a minute or two later it will be 125/77
I don't think BP can change that hugely so quickly, within minutes? can it? I think you aren't taking it correctly, they are somewhat dodgy some of these home machines and give vastly different readings if you don't get the position of your arm, your arm in relation to your heart and all the variables spot on. Also, you aren't meant to do it from the same arm within a the timeframe the instructions give.
Also, are you absolutely sure you got a reading of 140/130???
I don't think BP can change that hugely so quickly, within minutes? can it? I think you aren't taking it correctly, they are somewhat dodgy some of these home machines and give vastly different readings if you don't get the position of your arm, your arm in relation to your heart and all the variables spot on. Also, you aren't meant to do it from the same arm within a the timeframe the instructions give.
Also, are you absolutely sure you got a reading of 140/130???
Absolutely it can! When I test at home (my cardiologist advised due to med changes and some up and down BPs), I sit for 5-10 minutes then take it three times. The first one is always higher and it stabilizes for the next two. And last week when I went to the hospital for that nasty stomach virus, it was 158/95 when I got there and dropped down to normal levels within about 10 minutes.
Positive thoughts
He said 'a minute or two though'....from
140/130 then just a minute or two later it will be 125/77
1-2 minutes for such a change ?
And I didn't think 130 was even on the scale ?
He said 'a minute or two though'
When I do it at home, I sit and relax with the cuff on for around 10-15 minutes and I take three readings within ten minutes. The first is always high (no idea why and it's still within normal to pre-hypertension levels) and the other two are lower, normal and pretty much the same. If you took your BP after climbing a flight of stairs, it would most likely be higher. Wait a couple of minutes and it's back down. The only time for concern is when it's consistently high all the time.
Positive thoughts
But Fishmanpa with respect...he said his first reading was 140/130 !!! That's why I'm saying it can't be right. I know BP changes with activity levels, and 140 isn't even in the High BP category, but the 130 ?
Mine too ranges between 140/85 to 127/75 ISH (haven't taken it for over 6 months) before my last surgery I was so stressed I pushed it to 155/95, but 130 as diastolic surely can't be accurate?
But Fishmanpa with respect...he said his first reading was 140/130 !!! That's why I'm saying it can't be right. I know BP changes with activity levels, and 140 isn't even in the High BP category, but the 130 ?
Mine too ranges between 140/85 to 127/75 ISH (haven't taken it for over 6 months) before my last surgery I was so stressed I pushed it to 155/95, but 130 as diastolic surely can't be accurate?
I agree it's really high but I just think that's an anomaly or malfunction of the machine. When my wife was sick in 2016, her autonomic functions were being compromised and her BP was all OVER the place! She had readings like 200+/125+ etc... scary scary scary!:scared15:
The fact is, BP can and does fluctuate minute to minute, hour to hour based on many factors.
Positive thoughts
I agree it's really high but I just think that's an anomaly or malfunction of the machine.....yeah....that's the point I was making...the machine might be dodgy or it was responding to odd position variable changes or something. :D I think we should say to anyone, that if your diastolic BP is really that high, you should be seeing the doctor, right.
---------- Post added at 21:40 ---------- Previous post was at 21:37 ----------
Anyway, Im really not a knowledge on BP, so I'll butt put now....I only know the boundaries of pre-high and high and fipping off the scale (as my Dad legitimately had over 190/110 on a doctors reading and was taken to hosp.
No that doesn't sound right to me either. However yesterday mine went from 165/96 to 148/83 in quite a short space of time.
Wow, thanks for the great discussion. The numbers are correct based upon my recollection. I have been too scared to go back and check again. I was wondering about the first reading too as it was only a couple of minutes between readings. Either way, between the bp fears and the quitting smoking, I am over the moon with anxiety. If I can muster up the courage, I will try again soon.
Thanks
Blood pressure isn't really something to worry about, it's something that's easily treatable and might cease to be an issue once you've got your anxiety under control. Take your BP, don't worry about it being high in the short team and talk to your doctor about it. Worst case is you'll be put on meds and then you can re-evaluate once you get your other issues under control.
Well, I stand by my original assertion, I still think that if you got those two readings (with one being almost impossible - 130) 1 minute apart then your machine is faulty, or there is something about how you are using it that your unit doesn't like. I can understand 10 -15 minutes rest period, and three separate readings as Fishmanpa stated showing a descrease, but not a wide fluctuation in 1 minute. I'm gonna disagree with Fishmanpa here, sorry FMP...but its just another opinion. Read the booklet as your second poster suggested, in detail :D These little machines can be funny beasts. I am NOT saying you have something wrong with you, simply saying don't always trust the digital reading.
Fishmanpa's points are very valid though, there's no need to be concerned about varibility in BP - time of day, level of activity, state of heath all affect it. Also as another poster said, BP issues are entirely treatable anyway :yesyes: A BP fear is something I use to have, hence having the wrist checking unit, but I tell you what I learnt you have to limit how often you use it and take the results with a pinch of salt. The number of times I got a bizzarre reading and before I knew it I was skyhigh with worry.
I had one of those wrist ones years ago, and it gave me vastly different results like this, if I just had my arm not absolutely in line with my heart and it was a cm higher or lower or any teency variable was different. You are advised on the instructions for those to not take BP on the same wrist/arm within a certain set of minutes, as it affects results. I bought a cheap arm wrap digital one to replace it, and that gives accurate figures each time is I wrap in the same way, the same place etc. Saying that I only have to hear that my BP is being taken and I send it higher...pahaha. I'm not a 'taker of BP' nowadays and maybe do it once a year, its a deliberate choice as I was a checker of temperature, heart rate and various things in my major HA days.
Yeah it can happen.
J2 is this what happened?
You took your BP and it was high. So you went “shit I better take it again” and when you did it was even higher.
That’s what used to happen to me and I would obsessively take my BP over and over again desperate to see a lower reading. After doing that my BP would be so high I had to go to emergency. Throw the machine away. Of all the readings I took on my BP monitor I never once got one that wasn’t high. And yet when I went to emergency and they put me in a bed within 30 minutes my BP was normal.
I also workout 5 days in a week. I drink healthy drinks like beet juice and cranberry juice to control blood pressure levels.
Thanks for all the responses. I think there may have been a problem with the machine for the 140/130 reading but I am still seeing readings that are at first 137/84 and then I do it a couple of more times and I am seeing them more like 122/77 or 117/82. Not great and I don't know why it would be high at all. I quit smoking about 10 weeks ago, I workout 5 days a week and I am only about 1 stone overweight. When I was smoking, it was never high. Very odd and a little concerning.
Thanks,
J2
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