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Anxiety and high blood pressure

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mark45877
mark45877

Hi I was wondering how may people have high blood pressure with anxiety. When I'm relaxed my bp is normally 130/78. If I'm anxious it can easily go up to 180/90 it's pretty scary! If I can relax it takes about 2 mins to go back to around 140/80.

With my anxiety this worries me the most I'm on BP medication which keeps it check most of the time with some awful side effects.

I've had all the tests done over the years which have all been good. My GP assures me my anxiety does this to me and it's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately when all this started 5 years ago I googled high BP and over 180 is an hypertensive crisis and you should immediately go to the hospital.

When I had my first panic attack 5 years ago which started this madness my BP was 230/110/150 it was the worst day of my life.

Over the years my anxiety has sometimes just vanished and at one stage went for about 8 months. Lately it has come back. I can handle everything about it the pain/ palpitations dizziness feeling awful. Buts it the high blood pressure that worries me. I had a complete medical as recent as 3 weeks ago which was fine for my age 57.

Do other people have Blood pressure issues with their anxiety?

4 likes, 59 replies

59 Replies

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  • lisa52481
    lisa52481 mark45877

    Edited

    Hi mark i suffer from anxiety blood pressure too. I went to the blood pressure pod at ths doctors today where you can test yourself in a private room. It was 210, the receptionist called the doctor and he tested my bp which was then 190. I told him its anxiety, i get the same sat in the dentist waiting room, they never believe you when you say its anxiety. Now he has increased my medication and given me imlapadine. Looking at the reviews online i dont want to take that sounds like you will end up bloated sad
    • lana23785
      lana23785 lisa52481

      Posted

      That’s classic white coat syndrome BP always goes up at the dr office for high anxiety ppl.. my best advice is to buy a blood pressure machine at your local pharmacy and try to  take your pressure a few times a day for a few days/ u may not meet need a medication adjustment at all- my mom who is on 25 mg metoprolol tested 160/90 when she was in the doctors office a few days ago so I checked it same night with her blood pressure monitor when she was nice and calm and it was 130/80..point in case don’t up your dose unless u really need to.
    • lisa52481
      lisa52481 lana23785

      Posted

      Hi Lana

      I told him my bp was lower at home and he just said you cant trust home monitors they are not accurate . I have been on the higher dose for a week now and it is giving me headaches. Going back to docs next week to tell him i want to go back to the lower dose.

    • jimjames
      jimjames lisa52481

      Posted

      Lisa,

      Maybe time to look for another doctor. Meanwhile, you can bring in your home bp monitor and test it against the one at the doctor's office. That said, unless you have a defective unit, or aren't using it properly, studies suggest they are not only accurate but more accurate in terms of ruling out white coat syndrome as well as giving you multiple data points throughout the day for a more accurate bp diagnosis. Most good docs get this, yours apparently doesn't.

      Jim

    • lisa52481
      lisa52481 jimjames

      Edited

      Hi Jim

      Yes I definitely need a new doctor . I will take my home device tomorrow when i go but just sitting in the waiting room is going to make my bp go through the roof. Im thinking of seeing a hypnotist about this doctors white coat syndrome. I dont want to be on pills because anxiety is causing the high blood pressure.

    • jimjames
      jimjames lisa52481

      Posted

      It doesn't matter if your home device measures high in the doctor's office. The purpose of bringing it to the doctor's office is to show him that your home monitor is accurate. If one measures high in the doctor's office, they both should measure high. As mentioned before, your bp meds should be adjusted to what your bp is during a normal day at home. A good doctor understands this. I also have higher bp at the doctor's office but he trusts me when I tell him that it's normal at home and that is what my bp meds are adjusted to.

      Jim

    • lisa52481
      lisa52481 jimjames

      Posted

      I went to the docs yesterday and saw a different doctor she has asked me to keep a three week diary of readings, at least she listened to me when i said it was white coat syndrome and i dont have to take the diuretic pills anymore 😊

    • jimjames
      jimjames lisa52481

      Posted

      That's really good news, Lisa. Sometimes you just have to find the right doctor.

      Jim

    • kathy02276
      kathy02276 lisa52481

      Posted

      let me know if you do this and how it worked. or psychologist?

  • jeff7777
    jeff7777 mark45877

    Edited

    Same thing going on here.  Except my BP meds, that weren't at all necessary, gave me Reynauld's as a result.  I should have been more stout that is was anxiety.  However, my best piece of advice is to buy an automated wrist BP cuff.  It definitely lessened the "White Coat" anxiety feeling at home and actually dropped my BP more than the meds did.  I even take it with me to the Doctors now since I used to spike up to 200+ over 100+ during every visit resulting in about 10 EKG's. There's just something about that regular cuff...Good luck all.

  • maryloun818
    maryloun818 mark45877

    Edited

    Hi.. I started having panick attacks about a year ago. Every now and then I get one when something triggers it. Last Saturday I had a pretty big scare, I feel like so internalized it... Mon, Tues and Weds. I had a horrible headache and my BP went up. My MD put me on BP meds and since then, I have felt extremely fatigued no matter how much I sleep, I get drained within a few hours. Anxiety is still present as well even was pale today. Has anybody else experienced this?
    • typkrft
      typkrft maryloun818

      Edited

      If the MD put you on Beta Blockers this is completely normal, especially if it's on of the "old school" beta blockers. There are beta receptor sites all over the body and older beta blockers block are do not discriminate. Newer beta blockers target the heart's beta receptors so it is not as dramatic. It is thought that older Beta Blockers are better for anxiety because they target the whole body not just the heart. It's also important to remember that BB for the treatment of anxiety is off label. Some people respond very well, some people say their anxiety gets worse. I've actually had some success with newer beta blockers used PRN. I would ask your doctor to lower the dose and see if that is still therapeutically acceptable. It is totally fine to take something like xanax on beta blockers as well, but you'll find people have a lot of "thoughts," some for some against, on things like xanax. Lastly, it might be worth trying something like Olive Leaf Extract for mild to moderate hypertension. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18729245 Is a study in twins, because they are genetically similar, that showed that high doeses of Olive Leaf Extract lowered Systolic 13 points or more and Diastolic 5 points or more, which means it's about as effective as many BP medications. It is thought that OLE modulates calcium channels, so I wouldn't try it until the doctor okays it and the BB's are out of your system. I've tried BBs and Calcium channel blockers specifically for High HP and found that OLE works well enough and I have absolutely no side effects. 

  • william35519
    william35519 mark45877

    Posted

    Mark when your BP gets that high yes it’s a crisis but for someone who doesn’t have panic or anxiety disorders. If your able to get your BP down I would say 10 minutes from its peak then your ok. My wife and I agreed to the 10 minute mark. 
  • Merianthe
    Merianthe mark45877

    Posted

    I have high bp and in the past two years have had very high spikes putting me in danger of stroke. I've been on meds for decades! Nothing really works for me. New doc has added lowest dose of Clonidine, makes as weak as kitten. I think problem is more to do with anxiety than physical problem but nobody wants o hear that. Maybe I should try a shrink instead of a GP

  • bunny1215
    bunny1215 mark45877

    Posted

    OMG !! this is my issue now. I'm 48 soon to be 49 and I never had high blood pressure issues, it just started like that and now I have palpitation with it. My cardiologist is monitoring it. He has me on Metoprolol 50mg and amlodipine 2.5. He also told me its my anxiety thats causing my blood pressure to read high, all other test is fine. This is worrying me so much. My anxiety comes on just like that. Please any advise would help me! Thanks

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