High Blood Pressure only when visiting our Doctor. Any one?
Posted , 19 users are following.
My wife has this problem, visit Doctor blood pressure goes up.
Take blood pressure at home and pressure stays down.
After half a dozen visits to Doctors, each with recorded high pressure, Doctor has put her on pills.
Yet 99.999% of the time she is OK.
Has any one else had this experiance?
Is there a way to avoid taking these pills?
It seems illogical to me that a Doctor can say, OK I beleive your tests are true, but I must protect myself, I cannot do nothing, faced with the evidence of our own blood pressure tests.
3 likes, 37 replies
alice98739 Guest
Posted
Bob37393 alice98739
Posted
One issue is the size of arm cuffs which will give different readings.
Also it has to be positioned correctly in the appropriate arm used for measurement.
Another is that the patient must be in a state of rest which cannot be achieved in a 10 minute consultation.
Furthermore there have been issues about the use of electric BP machines as a replacement for the traditional mercury sphygmomanometers.
Inflating a cuff round your arm produces a cardiovascular response which varies from individual to individual and may actually make your BP rise.
Because of this effect up to three measurements should be taken at prescribed intervals and the first one rejected.
Also meaningful BP changes must be made in same arm with the same BP machine which should bear a calibration certificate.
Finally but not last the BP measurement is that of the brachial artery -
a real BP measurement needs to taken from an artery in your neck.
A study of BP measurements found that correction factors should be applied to the figures depending on location of measurement and the sex of the medical professional.
After all that there doesn't seem to be much relevance to BP office readings.
alice98739 Bob37393
Posted
You are right about those digital machines and that is why I use a manual sphygmomanometer which I compare to the gold standard mercury sphygmomanometer. I had to do some research on the digital machines because I was never happy with them. It is the Mean Artery Pressure (MAP) and the pulse that determines the systolic and diastolic. And if the pulse on the machine is more than +/-2 than the pulse you take manually using a watch with a second hand and your finger on an artery on the wrist, then you will get a high false reading or a low false reading.
I can't stress it enough to get the artery mark on cuff over the brachial artery on the inside of the arm between the bicep and tricep. Positioning of the cuff is really important.
Also, I notice that a person can't always go by the 30 mmHg over when the pulse stops by cuff rule either since people have fatty arms like I do, since it takes more pressure to compress the brachial artery in a fatty arm. So what I'm doing is inflating my cuff tight enough to just where I feel a little discomfort which seems to work well for me under the circumstance other wise I can tell that my artery is still palpating when the needle on the dial starts much too soon before I here the Korotkoff sounds in the stethoscope. I make sure that my cuff is on snug enough to where I can only get one or 2 fingers under it at the top and the bottom since I also have an odd shape arm as well as a fatty one and this is one of the things that most nurses and some doctors don't consider with the cuff much too loose especailly at the bottom since I understand that the width of the bladder need compresse that much length of the brachial artery.
My blood pressure always go down as the day wears on since I have taken it sometimes in the afternoon and evening as well as morning which my reading is higher. Morning is when I like to take it but I'm with you I take it 2 or 3 times about 10 minutes apart if my BP reading is too high and it usually comes down as well. Otherwise if it is normal I don't take the extra readings.
I never heard about the sex part, but the older a person is the higher the blood pressure tends to be and I will be 70 in a few months. I'm happy with my blood pressure since I have made lifestyle changes. My blood pressure went up even by my own BP readings after my menopause and I was able to get it back down on my own. Now my blood pressure is staying in the high normal to normal range, which I'm really happy about.
Lastly, blood pressure need to be taken in both arms because if a person shows high blood pressure in one arm but not the other attention needs to be brought to the doctor. In my case since I can use the adult size also I use it on my left arm. But my right arm is larger and I have to use a large adult cuff for it. So it is 2 manual sphygmomanometers for me.
ERINB116 Guest
Posted
I recently went to the ER because I injured my arm at work. They did a few XRays, and found out that while my arm was terribly bruised, nothing was broken... That took about 30 minutes... Yet, because I had high blood pressure while visiting the ER, They kept me there for FIVE hours! They said my blood pressure was to high and they couldn't release me. I told them that I was anxious, that I suffer from anxiety, and unfortunately this is what happens. But the doctors did as alot of doctors do, and ignored me. Finally, after five hours of blood pressure drama and three doses of medication to lower my blood pressure, I said enough is enough, and signed out AMA. I took my blood pressure two hours later while at home, and from the drugs they gave me, it dropped quite low. It was 90/40. Yes, I suffer from severe anxiety... But please docs, listen to me and understand me!! While you may not have had a patient like me in the past, yes, my anxiety is so severe that it can raise my blood pressure exponentially! Any you, keeping me in the hospital until it drops, just exacerbates the problem!! Please, docs, take the time to listen and understand your patients!
Liza007 ERINB116
Posted
Hi Erin,
The same thing happens to me, even with an ER visit! My anxiety is from being in an accident and having multiple injuries and non-stop pain. The ringing constantly in my ears for months is enough to send any sane person over the edge. Thank you for posting your response, because I was starting to feel as though i was the only one who believed me. My BP is normal when I'm not talking about my injuries and pain, but it goes up sky high in a doctor visit and worse when they are taking the BP reading. My BP does go up at home here and there when I'm at a high pain level, but I can calm myself down at home by refocusing on what's right in my life. However, send me to someone to talk about my possible lifelong problems, and I'm a basket case. BTW...anxiety medication does not stop the anxiety at the doctor's office, nor like it did in the ER.
rayvic17 Guest
Posted
natalie82423 Guest
Posted
Went to the hospital yesterday and it was 167/95, then 156/94.
Come home and take it, 129/85
They tried to put me on Ramipril and terible side effects so stopped it
Bob37393 natalie82423
Posted
Recent scientific research for blood pressure suggests a systolic of 150 mmHg because too many people are getting their diastolic lowered too far (risk of ischemic heart failure if diastolic less than 60 mmHg).
?I've used a reference BP based on 150/105 at heart rate of 60 beats per minute (bpm) giving a mean arterial pressure (map) of 120 mmHg.
?The following graph shows the dynamic range of BPs at 60 bpm which keep the same level of mean arterial pressure.
lily65668 Bob37393
Posted
Bob37393 lily65668
Posted
The graph shows that, under stress, a fit person could be pushing 230 systolic and diastolic would be verging on ischemic heart failure (because the heart is fed from the diastolic pressure).
?I recently checked my BP as a 73 year old male under a stress situation and measured 224/95 - probably enough to warrant an emergency referral.
?However in the same week of controlled BP measurements, I measured 143/68 resting. 68 systolic only gives me 6 mmHg margin above the critical ischemic heart failure pressure.
?I don't really have much margin for further BP reduction!
Bob37393 Guest
Posted
My own experience, which is very similar to yours, led me to monitor my pulse to pulse blood pressure waveforms and I found that the inflating cuff induced arrythmic waveform patterns which distorted the bp readings.
Also I think the variability of pulse rate need to taken into the equation since your bp depends on the filling rate of your left ventricle.
sameh40048 Guest
Posted
I have White Coat Syndrome too. The last time I was in the GP's surgery, my BP was measured at 160/100. Then I went across the road and had a cup of tea in a cafe and took it myself and it was 117/70. It's consistently low at home and consistently high at the doctor's. It used to be high all the time and I was on four medications. But since taking Ateronon (a natural medicine derived from tomatoes), it is fine - except at the doctor's. Now I'm on two medications and I'm hoping to get off them eventually.
lily65668 sameh40048
Posted
Sameh, are you saying you accepted two medications even though your BP was only 117/70 outside of your doctor's surgery? Perhaps I'm misreading this.
vaneeta01501 Guest
Posted
It's white coat hypertension just monitor it at home if it's up then go if not take responsibility of your own health I do the dash diet and take my own bp.