Hypetension in teenager, why?
Posted , 4 users are following.
I know i misspelled hypertension, sorry
Hello!
This is a very brief summary of a long story so If it's a bit confusing that's why. Currently I'm 16, but about 3-4 years ago they noticed my BP was slightly elevated during a check up. Nothing extreme so they didn't do anything about it. However about 2 years ago I started experiencing quite a lot of shortness of breath, especially during rest, so I went to my GP and at that time my BP measured around 130/90. Still nothing extreme but quite high for a 14 year old. I did some lung tests but everything looked good so she sent me to a cardiologist just in case. During a physical exam he noticed that I had a very weak pulse in one side of my groin, I have no idea what that means but it's worth mentioning. I did an ambulatory BP monitoring which also measured around 130/90 as a daily average (If I remember correctly, I'm not sure) and later I also did an echocardiogram that looked normal. Since they couldn't find anything they assumed there wasn't a particular cause and no more tests were done.
That was a while ago but the last few months my shortness of breath has gotten significantly worse and I've started experiencing other symptoms such as:
-fatigue
-dizzy spells where I have to sit down or I will faint
-Increasing headaches
-palpitations (although my heart rate is generally very fast, around 90-100 bpm sitting down)
-ringing in ears, especially the right one
-blurry vision, especially the right eye as well
So i decided to see my doctor last week. These were my BP readings:
146/110
136/105
130/103
She did some blood tests as well but I haven't gotten the results yet. But as you can tell, it's my diastolic pressure I'm worried about. What could be the cause of this and could it be related to my symptoms? I'm not overweight and don't have any family history of hypertension or heart disease that I know of.
0 likes, 3 replies
Conns knasv
Edited
There are many different ways you can end up with high blood pressure. At your age it's too high, well you know that, but what needs to happen is to find out why!!! and not just be put on medication and sent home. Sometimes folk get RESISTANT high blood pressure and GP's just rotate medication around until they find something that works. Initially this is bad practice - thorough investigation is key here.
If you have a copy of your blood test results, pot them on here with ranges.
Paul
Scotgal knasv
Posted
At your age and with BP readings like that your cardiologist should be concerned, if for no other reason, because you are so young.
My father was diagnosed with hypertension at 17 when he enlisted in the Navy during WWII,
he continued to suffer with this most of his life until he succumbed from an MI at the age of 62.
Your doctor needs to elucidate the cause , because diastolic hypertension is a different animal than systolic. Diastolic occurs when the heart is at rest, so that is no better than systolic hypertension which occurs as the heart is ejecting blood out to the rest of the body. It places a tremendous burden on the body. At your age, you have many years ahead of you, therefore you need clear, concise answers and a treatment plan that will keep both measurements in the normal range. Good luck to you.
Scotgal knasv
Posted
In my previous post, one of the statements is incorrect; It should've said high blood pressure places a tremendous burden on the heart.