Fear of high BP

[Dave]

Hi all, I'm 25 and have been suffering anxiety on and off for about 18 months. Lately I seem to be worrying a lot about my blood pressure, my last 2 readings at the GP have been pretty high - 147/90 and 155/98. The doctor said it was most likely due to my anxiety, I always get panicky when I have my BP taken. I have quite a stressful job which often brings on anxiety. Sometimes when I'm at work I get a horrible tense feeling in both temples and then start panicking about my blood pressure because I presume it's a sign of it increasing. It's all a vicious circle and is happening virtually on a daily basis, it is also making me unhappy at work. Does anyone else suffer from this? Anyone got any suggestions for what I can do at work to relax?

[nomorepanic]

If it helps I had a high blood pressure for over 2 years and never suffered any side effects atall. That is what worries the doctors cos there is no apparent illness associated with it so people don't even know theirs is high.

If they were worried they would monitor it more regularly and keep an eye on it.

Take regular breaks at work and go for a walk and if sitting then you can do some stretches in the chair.



Nicola

[Dave]

Are there no symptoms at all for high blood pressure? I've heard of many people who complain of a 'blood pressure headache'. Of course, this could be caused by tension of the head muscles I suppose.

[scfan]

Dave,
I was diagnosed about a month ago with high BP. I dont have any ideas for you for how you can relax at work, but I can tell you that you can definitely do two things that will help bring your BP down.

1 - Get exercise. I have started walking about 30 minutes a day. I know this doesnt sound like alot, but it was 30 minutes more exercise than I was getting previously. I plan on upping it and maybe even starting to jog a bit once I lose some weight and get in better shape.
2 - Eat better. I dont know what your diet is like now, but I have started to eat better by basically cutting red meat out, eating more fruits and veggies, fish, shrimp, salads, etc. No pizza, doritos, cake, and all that other stuff I love, but is bad for me. Oh, and dont add salt to anything. Drink plenty of water and juice. No pepsi, even diet, because caffeine can increase your BP..

I hope this post doesnt sound preachy. It's not my intention. I just want to offer some hope that things can improve in the BP area if you are willing to work at it a bit. I was in the 140-160/90+ four weeks ago, and now I'm consistently in the 120-130/80-87 range. Not great, but better than it was, and I feel it will continue to go down.

[Quirky]

Hi Dave,

I always get high bp at the doctors these days too and it has been higher than yours, I had 178/112 once! and it was all due to anxiety. When I had it monitored at home it was mostly normal unless I was still very anxious. Your bp is probably only high at the docs not all the time. BP is only classed as high when it doesn't come back down at rest when relaxed.
High bp does not usually cause any symptoms on it's own. I did work with a lady who had a headache with high bp, but it was MUCH much higher than you mention and not at all how you describe your headaches. Your headache sounds like a classic tension headache and is very common, I get them too. Your gp would be monitoring your bp further if he was even slightly concerned I'm sure.
If you feel stressed at work maybe try and make time during the day to relax, make sure you take your full lunchbreak etc, maybe do some stretches, rub your shoulders, do breathing exercises or go for a walk in the fresh air if possible.
Good luck,

Lisa

[dddee]

Hi, high pressure is not a scary issue, You should ask your doctor if it it possible to find its cause (secondary hypertension) or if it should be considered idiopathic (primary).
If it is secondary, then the cause should be cured.
If it is primary, as it is in most cases, it is an issue only in the sense that it is very bad for your heart and vessels in the long term. So it should be cured with apprpriate therapy to avoid big issues in the next years. If you keep it under control with drugs there is nothing to fear, because it is under control. Only high values exercitate their nasty effect on vessels. Optimum values are considered <120/80 mmHg. Acceptable <130/85.
So, ask your doctor.

[dddee]

Of course the anxiety issues play a role in it, I didn't forget them.

[dddee]

another "nice" useful thing you could do is to have the pressure holter for one day that checks your pressure many times during the day.

[Dave]

Ah, but I can guarantee I'll be anxious just wearing it!

[Janvi]

Hi Dave,

Don't worry just accept the fear when you are taking your blood pressure readings at home. Try to check you BP at home and see wehther you panick.

[mandie]

Hi Dave

I no exactly how yr feeling, im the same. When my anxiety was bad my bp was high everytime i went to the gp. they didnt seemed to concerned, just said it was down to the anxiety.

If i go to the gp and they say i just take your bp, i immediately start to panic and then its high.

I work at a surgery and one day when i was feeling pretty relaxed i asked the nurse to take it and it was normal.

So even though i no its probably just high when i visit my gp, i still worry about it.

mandie

[Alisonj]

I defintely experienced side effects when my blood pressure was very high. I had a buzz in my ears and could barely hear, huge headache and was seeing flashes of light. That was when I was admitted for it being 220/110 and wouldnt budge. However mine was related to giving birth! I dont think thats your case.
Exercise is a huge part of getting both your blood pressure and anxiety down. I never believed it would make a big difference but it truly has. 30 minutes of cardio a day and I feel so much better!
Also revamp your diet and cut back on sodium. Its hard because there is lots of sodium in everything!

[kestral]

theres probably to much info about than is good for us these days with tv, newspapers, magazines, books and internet telling us reasons why we should feel ill rather than giving us a balanced view of things. no wonder our bp is high!