Why has blood pressure increased so much over a year or two span?

[Deepseathree]

29 and 209lbs at 5’11. I used two years as a loose number. Maybe 1 1/2 to 2 years ago my blood pressure at the Doctors office was 120/70 or in that region with a hr of maybe 55-65. Monday I went for an appointment and it was 160/101. I mentioned it to the doctor and he looked back at the past few times I’ve been in there recently in those two years maybe 4 or 5 times. They were all in the 130-150/80-90. I also recently had a stress echo that I didn’t feel was necessary for undiagnosed chest pain. That showed normal and the cardiologist didn’t mention anything about blood pressure being bad during that. When I test outside of doctors offices it’s always around 130-140 as well. My blood panel isn’t the best, but it better than it was in the last year. What could be the culprit. Could it be stress. I think I was on Prozac when I had the better reading. Would that have handled my stress enough to keep it down that much? I’ve started taking magnesium, zinc, coq10, vit c, and fish oil to no avail.

[Howanxious]

Hey, I'm 21 and I've been there a few weeks ago. I was in my cardiologist to have a complete check up and everything was normal but my BP was really high (150-160/80-90). I freaked out a lot, obviously, so even my home readings were always over 140/80 because of my terrible anxiety over the cuff! As soon as a I learnt to stay relaxed and take it easy, the readings became normal (120-110/70-80). The cardiologist put me on an ambulatory 24hr BP test just to be sure and everything came back perfect! No hypertension.
Your high readings can be due to anxiety and stress and maybe getting a 24hr test when you feel more relaxed can bring you and your doctor a better and real vision over your BP levels.

[Dave_Lister]

What is your activity level like now compared back to when it was 120/70?


If you have become sedentary and are not exercising, then that would definitely cause a rise in blood pressure numbers.


Also, when you go to take your BP how many readings do you do at the pharmacy? Keep in mind that you will need to be calm and have not been walking for a couple of minutes to get a true number, and even then, those pharmacy machines can be off if they haven't been calibrated correctly.


Doctor's offices have better machines but you can have white coat anxiety and that can cause your BP to be high as well.



I like to do approx 3-4 runs on the machine to get an average number.

[Deepseathree]

I workout more now than at that time. Of course it’s more anaerobic than aerobics, but it doesn’t make hat much of a difference. Only thing different is no Prozac and more stress. But I don’t think stress could change it that much over such a short length. Plus I would have assumed the stress echo would show an abnormality.

[Kingdawson]

I workout more now than at that time. Of course it’s more anaerobic than aerobics, but it doesn’t make hat much of a difference. Only thing different is no Prozac and more stress. But I don’t think stress could change it that much over such a short length. Plus I would have assumed the stress echo would show an abnormality.

Stress and anxiety can definitely change it that much my friend.

[Deepseathree]

I just don’t know how to figure out if I need a BP medication or if it’s something that an SSRI could help.

[Kingdawson]

I just don’t know how to figure out if I need a BP medication or if it’s something that an SSRI could help.

Or neither?

[Deepseathree]

I like the idea of neither, but I’m an anxious person. I was fine with it recently, but if it’s stress and anxiety that are going to cause the problems then I’d be fine with an SSRI helping cope. It could be neither though. I’d like to have a more extensive blood panel to check testosterone and thyroid.

[Cab9792]

White coat syndrome? I have it. My blood pressure is ALWAYS normal at home. Like always 120/80 or less. Go to the doctor...even if I don't feel anxious.... 150/90!!! Try buying a cuff and do it at home.

[Fishmanpa]

White coat syndrome? I have it. My blood pressure is ALWAYS normal at home. Like always 120/80 or less. Go to the doctor...even if I don't feel anxious.... 150/90!!! Try buying a cuff and do it at home.

That was my first though too minus the home BP machine. I HIGHLY recommend NOT to do that. It will only encourage self checking and feed the anxiety.

Positive thoughts

[Deepseathree]

I mean, it’s one of my thoughts as well. But even when I check it elsewhere such as grocery stores, it’s high. Checked today at a grocery store and it was around 160/90. It got down to 147/85 but stayed high after around 6 tries.

[Howanxious]

I mean, it’s one of my thoughts as well. But even when I check it elsewhere such as grocery stores, it’s high. Checked today at a grocery store and it was around 160/90. It got down to 147/85 but stayed high after around 6 tries.
Better talk with a doctor about this, I think that it's necessary to know if your high readings are legitimate or they're influenced by psychological factors or another physiological issues (what doctors call secundary hipertension). Once you know which are your REAL BP levels, you'll can leave it behind (if they're normal) or go for further investigation to see if you have primary or secundary hipertension (if they're still high). The ambulatory test I've mentioned here the other day it's the conventional test to determine if some patient does have or not hypertension.
Anyway, I think that you're fine, but It's better to be sure and take action over it if needed :)

[lofwyr]

That was my first though too minus the home BP machine. I HIGHLY recommend NOT to do that. It will only encourage self checking and feed the anxiety.

Positive thoughts

Absolutely agree. I was actually required by my cardiologist and surgeon to do BP self checks at home for a diagnosed condition, and it was an absolute exercise in anxiety. It was helpful in the long run for me to learn self control, actually, but it was tough. Now I take it once in the morning, once in the evening and keep a mental note comparing to the previous day, but no longer freak out. My BP can swing pretty wildly, in spite of meds.

But unless a doctor wants you to check your BP at home, don't do it. And that doesn't mean ask them if they want you too, wait until they tell you to. That way lies madness.