White coat Hypertension or just Hypertension?

Posted , 3 users are following.

Good day everyone. So I'm new to this place and also new to this whole high blood pressure stuff. Basically about a week ago, on Wednesday I think I had palpitations that lasted for hours( part of which I felt was being driven by my anxiety) and I immediately went to see my doctor and my blood pressure reading was revealed to be around 135/104 I think . He recommended Valium and Propranolol and asked for further check ups. I had an ECG exam and even took blood tests, all of which came back negative and showed that I had no issues. He further recommended me to a Cardiologist who performed a heart check up which revealed that aside from beating really fast, my heart was fine and he asked for hormonal tests which once again came back normal. He did recommend medication like Isoptin, Aropax and Bilocor which I haven't taken yet. So basically I got another blood pressure reading at the hospital and it was now 170/105, I remained in the Trauma Unit for a while and my blood pressure and pulse normalized. I informed my cardiologist that I suffer from massive anxiety issues especially when going to the doctor due to unpredictability of results and I'm due for a final check up next week Monday. In the meantime I've been freaking out and obsessing over my BP, I've been having symptoms like tightness around the chest area, headaches and cold sweats which basically make me freak and think I'm having a heart attack. I also noticed bluish veins on my hands and feet but I don't know if it's a symptom because my mother and sisters have them too. Currently I am very confused about what is going on and don't know if my anxiety is driving all of this or if I have legitimate hypertension as I am not yet in possession of portable blood pressure monitor. I wanted to ask what you think of this whole situation. To clarify I am a 20 year old male who is around 172cm tall and weighs 83kgs. Aside from anxiety issues, I was also prone to stress, a short temper and lived a kind of sedentary lifestyle although my cardiologist dismissed all of these as factors when I told him, only keeping the anxiety part in pocket.

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4 Replies

  • Edited

    I think the best thing for you is to get an arm blood pressure arm.

    You should sit and wait atleast 5 minutes before taking. Sit with your back straight, and keep your feet flat on the ground.

    I think it might be that you have white coat hypertension.

    When you are at home relaxed, I bet your readings will be lower..

    Also high blood pressure is not diagnosed with one or two readings.

    Keep track of your reading for a couple of weeks, and take to your doctors.

    I think your anxiety is getting the better of you.

    • Edited

      Thank you for the reply. Yes I am going to get a monitor next week and I'm currently taking medication, mainly Vermapil at the moment. My anxiety has been problametic and I have been making attempts to curb it. I'll also be meeting my cardiologist next week so hopefully we can resolve this issue.

  • Posted

    Hello, I would stop stressing because stressing causes alot of things. Go see Cardio doc to make sure nothing going on with heart or nothing clotted. It could be a whole of things but it can also be hereditary. Sometimes exercise and change of diet can fix problem. so relax.

  • Posted

    Hello, I would stop stressing because stressing causes alot of things. Go see Cardio doc to make sure nothing going on with heart or nothing clotted. It could be a whole of things but it can also be hereditary. Sometimes exercise and change of diet can fix problem. so relax.

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