In my mind... Chest pain = heart issues.

[lofwyr]

I often find I get some power over anxiety by doing the things I *can* do to remedy the problem, especially when it is a real medical issue.

So, congratulations on the weight loss. It is an achievement you should take some pride in. Is there more to go, or are you to your goal? If there is more you could do, try to work on that perhaps, give you another goal to focus on. It helped me, I never had hypertension, but I had a lot of weight to lose, and I felt tons better. Being 28, you have a metabolism rearing to go and you are still young, so don't lose heart. Try to exercise, even if just walking, it also really helps.

Do you have a cardiologist or GP you can reassess your meds with to bring it down in the meantime? There are many different BP meds and they all work differently for different people. I needed to get my BP very low for medical reasons, even though I was not hypertensive. It took a few meds to try, I am now on a beta blocker (Metoprolol, which is also given for anxiety sometimes) and Varapamil, a calcium channel blocked, and that worked for me.

Try not to worry about damage done and focus on what you *can* do.

[Dracom]

Thank you for the advice! I went back to my doc and have been trying out beta blockers along with my usual meds for the past couple of days. They seem to be working amazingly!

[Dracom]

Just to give you guys an update, because not enough people do that, I went down and managed to get a CT scan. Lo and behold, everything was fine and it seems that my symptoms were indeed a result of a migraine. Alls well that ends well.

[Dracom]

I've had hypertension for almost 10 years since I was a teen due to an unhealthy lifestyle and have been taking medication to control it (vasodilators and betablockers). I've also made some lifestyle changes, including losing 20kg though dieting and exercise (still 20kg to go to my ideal weight though...). However, it is only recently that I realized how much damage high blood pressure could cause and I have been freaking out. Every time I measure my BP in the clinic it can be anywhere from 160-180. At one time, it even reached 194, leading to an admission! Needless to say, it dropped way back down to 124-112 the next they measured.

Recently, I have bought a home monitor to measure my BP. To my absolute surprise, my BP at home has been consistently 110-120 and sometimes 130-140, which is perfect.

However, now a new problem has surfaced. I feel like I need to constantly measure my blood pressure in order to make sure it remains at 110-120. I get a lot of reassurance from those numbers and I am locked in a vicious cycle, causing me a great deal of stress, ironically. Essentially:

- Get nervous after not taking BP for a while.
- Feel that the only way to get rid of that nagging anxiety (and to see how badly my BP is affected by it) is to measure my BP.
- However, when I'm taking the first measurement, feeling the cuff squeezing my arm and feeling my heart beat in my arm, my heart rate begins to increase involuntarily to 90-100 bpm as I'm anticipating my first reading.
- Because of this, my first BP reading will inevitably be high, like 160-180.
- However, after seeing the first measurement, while I sometimes freak out even more, most of the time I begin to calm down (as I acclimatize to the machine) and my BP will invariably drop back down to 110-130 within 5-10 minutes, finally giving me the reassurance that I need.

It is because of this relief that I keep taking my BP even though my first reading will be abnormally high. Essentially, even with the home monitor, I'm getting White Coat Syndrome.

What I am worried about and what I want to ask you guys is... I've read a ton of scary literature about high blood pressure damaging blood vessels and stuff. However, those are mostly over a long period of time. In my case, would sudden, temporary spikes like these be something to worry about as well?

From what I understand, even during exercise, BP can rise to above 200 as well for periods of time longer than the five to ten minutes it takes for me to calm down after the initial reading. In those cases, shouldn't the high BP from exercise also damage the blood vessels?

This year, I've been having it bad with my anxiety, to the point that I've been prescribed Xanax. It's a miracle drug for me, but doctors have been advising me not to use it too much due to a possibility of developing a dependence/building a tolerance. Because of this, I've only taken it in extremely small doses sparingly, only when I really need it like during panic attacks.

Regardless, just within these past few months, my BP has spiked at least 10 times due to panic attacks and these kinds of measurements over the course of numerous doctor appointments and home measurements. I'm scared that I've done irreparable damage to my vessels... I am so, so scared that I'm going to get a heart attack or a stroke...

For those of you who have these kinds of issues, should I get rid of my home machine? Will that help?

EDIT: Case in point, I just took my BP six times:

1st Reading: 180/94
2nd Reading: 155/86
3rd Reading: 142/69
4th Reading: 132/60
5th Reading: 124/63
6th Reading: 117/61

...and any subsequent readings will be in the 110-120 range, which is what I want to see.

All this within a span of 10 minutes! So, as long as I'm relaxed, I know I'm fine. However, this relief will only last for a few days before I'm at it again... I'm also worried that those heart-pounding first readings will cause me harm!

[Fishmanpa]

You've gotten yourself into a ritual like behavior and something that initially was for reassurance has turned into something that is causing distress.

It really is as simple as ditching the monitor but I know from experience here it's incredibly hard to do and its doubtful you'll do it

I suggest you throw the damn monitor away, keep taking your meds and instead turn your OCD like behavior toward dropping that 20kg.

Positive thoughts

[Dracom]

Thank you for the advice... but how do I stop myself from wondering what my blood pressure is every moment of the day? Also, I'm getting terrified of any activity that can increase my blood pressure...

[Weasley123]

I am exactly and I mean exactly Like u and fish is right. I always had low bp until ha surfaced then when I was 36 a reading of 129/87 freaked me out. Since then it’s been a disaster I bought a machine a s realized likr u the initial reading was high but it go down. I’d get 160/84 then 10 min later after walking sbiut ti 122/75. At first I was not checking non stop. It was always high at dr but dr believed I had white coat. Then one day I got a high reading it dropped and I started checking non stop. I’m super ashamed to admit it took the machine to work. Finally one horrible night after a few high readings I was so upset I smashed it. Best idea ever. I now only get it checked at dr and yes it’s high. When I git my flu shot it was 167/95 then one minute later 145/87 then 138/75. If she kept taking it woukd have dropped more ny Pulse was 140! Yesterday at my gynecologist office it was read manually 150/85. Pulse 80. My pulse is usually 70. I was upset ur wasn’t lower but decided it wasn’t too bad. My dr renewed my birth control pill which u aren’t supposed to take d you have high pressure because he’s sure it’s white coat. I feel much better without the machine and I only think about my pressure when a drs visit looms. I wish it read lower but I know it’s anxiety. So I try ti address thst. I walk a lot and I take CBd oil. I’m by no means cured I’m peterufied if drs. I also joined a support group on fb white coat syndrome.

Oh and I’m a 40 year old woman slim no kids no family history. I’ve neve taken blood pressure meds and at this time I won’t. I’m sure it woukd dtop to low then.

Throw out that machine today.

[lofwyr]

Unless you have a condition that a doctor has advised you need to monitor at home, there is zero reason anyone--esepcially someone with HA--should self check their blood pressure.

I have to check mine per doctors' instructions in the morning and the evening. I have a condition related to my BP that can kill me. That said, I have learned the WORST thing for my BP is anxiety. I don't really deal with HA as much these days, but have anxiety issues related to life in general (work mostly). When it is up, the BP is through the roof.

So, by that reasoning, if checking your BP drives your anxiety up, which in turn raises your BP, the simple act of checking your BP actually creates a condition which you are self checking your BP to avoid. Toss the machine. That way lies madness.

[Weasley123]

That’s a great point. The absolute worst thing for my bp is the machine

[Dracom]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I will be giving the blood pressure machine to my friend. However, if I may ask, do these temporary spikes of 150, 160, 170 or even 180 cause damage to the blood vessels? The doctors seemed rather unconcerned about my BP going up to 194 as it went down pretty quickly.

If exercise increases BP and heart rate up to 160-200 for short periods of time, I don't think these infrequent anxiety-related spikes are something to agonize over, are they?

For those of you who had these BP spikes, how do you get over the worry? Also, how do you stop agonizing over what your BP is/could be without the machine to quantify it? For those of you who have dealt with these worries/overcome them, I would love some advice in that regard as well.

Unless you have a condition that a doctor has advised you need to monitor at home, there is zero reason anyone--especially someone with HA--should self check their blood pressure.

I do have hypertension, but it is controlled with medication (vasodilators and beta-blockers). However, as you said, measuring it is making it worse... I actually managed to get my anxiety in control these past few weeks, however, something happened a few days ago that triggered me to obsessively take my BP since yesterday in order to reassure myself.