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High blood pressure - Should I be worried?

Posted , 8 users are following.

christelle17339
christelle17339

Hi

I have been feeling unwell for a little over a week now. Symptoms ranging from feeling nauseous, light headed and getting headaches. So last night on way home I stopped at the chemist to have my blood pressure checked.

They had a machine there allowing you to check yourself. I did it a couple of times and reading came back as 184/98. A leaflet on the side advised to seek urgent medical help if top figure was over 180 so I went to the walk in centre at my local hospital.

I got the see a GP there who took blood pressure again and it was 190/118 !! He examined me and said he would not admit me into hospital but I had to see my own GP as a matter of urgency today or go back to walk in centre today.

I managed to see GP at my own practice first thing this morning and new reading was 150/80 so down a bit but still more than it should be. She is sending me for blood tests and ECG.

I am worried as first appointment I can get for blood tests is in 7 days time and ECG at the end of the month. She wrote routine as opposed to urgent on my paperwork but GP at walk in centre last night seemed to think I had to act quick and was very close to admitting me into hospital.

Should I be worried? My mother has high blood pressure and my father has heart disease. Should I push to make things happen quicker?

Thanks

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • moon53540
    moon53540 christelle17339

    Posted

    I would recommend getting a blood pressure monitor yourself so you can check yourself at home. Check yourself when you have been resting and haven't had any caffeine or food for a couple of hours. If your bp is still very high then it may be a problem. When you measured yourself at the chemist you had been moving around then again at the hospital you were probably very anxious about the reading. The fact all your readings are different shows you may have a bit of white coat syndrome.

    Try and avoid all things that raise your blood pressure as much as you can like alcohol, smoking, caffeine and really try not to worry about your health because that can make it worse. If you feel really unwell ask for help. If you are in the UK phone 111 and tell them your problems and they can recommend what you should do next.

    Are you on any medications? because certain ones can raise your blood pressure, even over the counter medicines like ibuprofen.

    • christelle17339
      christelle17339 moon53540

      Posted

      Hi

      Thank you for your reply.

      I am not on any kind of medication, I haven't smoked in 11 years and I am not a regular drinker.

      I am overweight though so does not help.

      I am more worried now that they have said my blood pressure was high and can feel my heart pounding in my neck.

      I will stop at the chemist again tonight and get another reading. I will also see if I can purchase a machine to do my readings at home.

    • moon53540
      moon53540 christelle17339

      Posted

      You can get a reasonably priced one from Amazon, about £20-£25 should be fine. You can probably feel your heart pounding in your neck because you are anxious about everything that has happened recently. Your blood pressure is probably going to be higher than normal, but as you have had such different readings each time, I suspect a few lifestyle changes can get you back to normal with a bit of time nothing drastic, maybe a bit of yoga and cutting down on something unhealthy in your diet. The worse thing you can do is stress about it. Stress is the thing that fuels most illnesses. Looking into relaxation techniques and meditation may help. You may need some medication to start, but if you make enough positive lifestyle changes, you won't need to stay on it for life. As hard as it is now, try and stay as positive as you can and don't panic.

  • derek76
    derek76 christelle17339

    Posted

    Relax and as Moon says get a good upper arm BP monitor and check it at home. Do three readings at a time over a ten minute period and trust them if they are similar. Morning and late afternoon ones tend to be higher. The first few day will probably give high readings as you will be anxious about doing them.

    The better monitors will record up to months readings and have a programme to use to print them out and analyse them.

    Nauseous, light headed and getting headaches ? Light headed is usually a sign that BP is low. Some people associate headaches with high BP but medical opinion does not say that.

    My BP shoots up in hospitals and surgeries.

    • christelle17339
      christelle17339 derek76

      Posted

      Thank you.

      Will look to purchase BP monitor.

      Just worried because GP last night was pondering whether to get me admitted in hospital but GP this morning saw no urgency. My notes from GP last night hadn't been transferred onto their system yet so she only had my account of events.

    • derek76
      derek76 christelle17339

      Posted

      Since 2000 my BP has often been 210/110 and I'm still here at 85 to tell you about it. Mine has peaks and medications give me more than the usual side effects and down too much but I'm probably very unusual 😃 Usually you need chest pain to be referred to or admitted to hospital. You would probably get two lots of blood tests at six hours apart at A&E to show that you had not had a heart attack and be there up to twelve hours. First time I was sent to hospital they did the blood tests but would not do a stress ECG as my BP was to high. I had medications for a few days to bring it down slightly. They then said the stress ECG showed that I had restricted flow in my arteries and did an angiogram that was clear. False positive they said. I said thank you can I now go to Barbados tomorrow as planned. They had not wanted me to fly earlier in the week. I've had two more false positives since.

      I've had kidney and brain MRI's and all sorts of other tests at a Hypertension Centre and they are happy for me to carry on without any meds for the past few years.

  • glamour
    glamour christelle17339

    Posted

    Hello Christelle

    190/118 is high on both counts. I am a little surprised that the doctor at the hospital did not admit you for continuous observation at least until your BP came down.

    Where you under any pressure at home or at work which would make you concerned and tense thus increasing you blood pressure.

    I have had high blood pressure for years which has been treated with a Diuretic and a compound to keep my blood vessels relaxed. This has worked well for years with my BP in the 140's/80's

    After many years I had a traumatic experience which put my BP at 199/99 with one hell oh a headache.

    I was immediately put on a drug called Amlodipine 2.5mg. My BP has been in the 130's/75's since.

    Don't worry the drugs are very successful these days and I am sure some medication will be found that suits you.

    By the way, I am now approaching 79 years and I have been on BP tablets for over 28 years

    Good Luck

    G

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