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Sudden increased blood pressure

Posted , 3 users are following.

jane243
jane243

Is there any reason why my blood pressure might have suddenly started to rise and stay high both morning and evening? I  had hypertension diagnosed  over 2 years ago and had the Losartan reduced from 50 mg to 25 mg [the lowest dose] over a year ago. At that time I was getting averages of around 122 systolic. It stayed more or less the same with the lower dose until about a month ago, when although the weekly averages stayed within bounds I was getting several quite high readings each week. Each day they seem to get higher and this morning it was 172/102. For me that is really high.

I haven't altered anything in my diet or life style and cannot understand this rise. Is it unusual as I haven't had these fluctuations before?

I have a 6 month check up next week and wonder if I will get the meds increased again.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • diazy
    diazy jane243

    Posted

    I think you need to be re-assessed by your doctor. Some meds lose their effectivenes over time, some don't - and everyone is different.

    ​As blood pressure is closely connected to both kidney and heart functions, having a look at these 2 areas could be helpful.

    • jane243
      jane243 diazy

      Posted

       I know the dr does the Qrisk assessment each time, is this what you mean by re-assessed?  That is on the rise at each birthday and I reach 73 next week.  One can of course do Qrisk online oneself and mine is now 18.8%.  I know this isn't good but it has been well over the 10% NICE recommend for a statin  for ages now, thanks to age alone. It is 2% hgher thanks to the fact that I take BP meds, regardless of how they control the BP. Isn't it just a tick box thing anyway?

      Looks like I'm doomed rolleyes !

       

    • helen_07568
      helen_07568 jane243

      Posted

      Jane you are not doomed there must be something in your life stressing you a holiday or some other event ... good luck
    • jane243
      jane243 helen_07568

      Posted

      I can't think of anything stressing me particularly, Helen. Certainly the holiday we have planned for 3 weeks hence isn't stress - I can't wait to go!  I'll just have to see what the dr thinks about this rise, it's only a week until I see her. 

      Diazy suggests some meds lose their effectiveness over time: does she mean the type or the actual brand I wonder? What I'm wondering is is Losartan better/worse than say Candesartan - they are both the same type of med although I don't know what the difference is.I wasn't keen to change type of med - say a calcium channel blocker - as I'm told you can't eat grapefruit and I love the stuff! There areother  alternatives of course. I'll just have to see what she says. Will keep you posted.

      Perhaps it may even normalise itself again - I wish!

       

  • diazy
    diazy jane243

    Posted

    Jane the Qrisk from what I understand is only for patients who do not already have a diagnosis - and you do have a diagnosis -  that your doctor should re-assess from time to time.

    ​By re-assess, I mean that your doctor should be the detective he's suposed to be and look at all your meds to determine if they are the best suited for you in this new situation.  This investigation should also include blood work for kidney function, for cardiac function, and EKG for cardiac function - perhaps an eco-cardiogram, perhaps a referral to a cardiologist.

    ​There are many factors that affect blood pressure - even the food you eat. your worry level, your exercise or lack of it. Blood pressure does not always rise with age either - so a comprehensive look at all these factors would be helpful for you.

    ​BP is usually higher in the morning, lower in late afternoon - and higher as soon as you start to worry about it - in most.

    In my experience, I find that pharmacists are far more helpful regarding medication knowledge, as they work with them exclusively.

    ​Any MD. who uses the Qrisk to monitor a diagnosis is not doing his/her job.

    ​You are not doomed at all - you simply need to find a competent doctor and get the proper examinations, and review your eating, drinking, exercise and stress levels.

    ​All of this may not be easy for you, but the chance of a positive outcome is high.

    ​You can do it!

    • jane243
      jane243 diazy

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply diazy. The only diagnosis I have is hypertension and the Qrisk is valid only if you do not have a diagnosis of stroke or heart disease and so far i don't. It's the NHS [NICE to  be exact] and their box ticking culture who decree these things and the drs have to offer anyone with a risk of over 10% a statin. She offered me one last time so I asked her if she would take one given that I was well - she said no she wouldn't ! She certainly doesn't use the Qrisk to monitor my hypertension, sorry if I gave that impression!

      My hypertension was diagnosed in Feb 2013 via a health check and I've taken meds for it since May of that year; first Ramipril then Losartan thanks to side effects. The dose was reduced to the lowest possible over a year ago and has stayed around <125 5=""> ever since, it had even dropped significantly during May June and July . That is why I was so concerned when it started to rise in August and that seems to be accelerating, even reaching 204/100 this morning.

      I have 6 monthly medicine reviews with my lovely dr who I consider myself incredibly lucky to have. It does help that she happens to be an old friend of my daughter. She does all the right tests and orders blood tests for kidney and liver functions where and when necessary so i don't  think I have a problem there. She said last time I went  not to bother with another cholesterol test and HbA1c as i had said that I didn't want to take a statin. As for the HbA1c, it had been at the high end of normal  and she said that as I'd altered my life style so much [thanks to the hypertension diagnosis] she thought doing an HbA1c wasn't necessary. I have to say i think I will ask for both a cholesterol test and the HbA1c though. Better safe than sorry.

      Until I had that health check I had a healthy disregard for illness. I at well, exercised a lot, drank moderately and generally led a fairly stress free life. i did use too much slt to be sure and I cut that out totally and now hardly drink any alcohol. My BMI is 19 for  the record. i think that health check made a a patient out of a well person !

  • diazy
    diazy jane243

    Posted

    Hi Jane -  thank you for your explanation - it helped. Only thing I can now think about is that some meds are only beneficial for a certain length of time, and that is followed by a change in meds when necessary (this from my pharmacist).

    It sounds like you are in good hands with your Doctor so I'm sure she wil get it all sorted. Best of success, and let us know the outcome please.

    • jane243
      jane243 diazy

      Posted

      Interesting what you say about meds being beneficiial for a limited time as I'm starting to think the same thing. I really can't think of any other reason for the sudden surge.

      Will post here when I've had my appointment. Fingers Xed cry

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