High Blood Pressure?

aroycepung

24 year old female
current weight: 143
starting weight: 150
goal weight: 130
height: 5'2"

I recently discovered I have high blood pressure. I feel that I am too young and healthy to be having this problem. I have a generally healthy, active lifestyle. I have been a vegetarian for 8 years and have always eaten pretty well, but as a grad school student I formed some bad habits and gained over the last few years. I am hoping someone can give some insight, as I have been logging my food for 44 days so far and exercising more than ever. I'm making sure I follow my macros and have been happy with my weight loss so far. I do know that I have nerves at the doctor and that makes my blood pressure higher than normal, but it still shouldn't have been as high as it was. Any tips on lowering it besides exercise and watching sodium and fats?

Women, I'm wondering if anyone has problems with their birth control raising their blood pressure?

I really, really do not want to be put on medication this early in life. Especially since I am not extremely overweight. Any other young people dealing with this?

hekla90

Birth control can be associated with hypertension. It can also be genetic or linked to diet. You should see a physician though to evaluate you- young people do get get high blood pressure and serious complications like brain bleeds can occur (I see this more often than I'd like!).

clh72569

Buy a blood pressure machine and take your pressure at home. If it is normal, I would keep track maybe twice a day. Just put it in your notes in your diary. Then print it out and give it to the Dr. and they will evaluate.

MelaniaTrump

Go to a store/pharmacy section. Some have machines that measure your blood pressure. Sit down type.
Take 20 breaths first.
Do you know any older people/family? Many people own digital blood pressure cuffs they buy from stores like walmart.
Any friends that are nursing students?
Your school, does it have a fitness center that has a person that can do this for free?
I think walgreens gives free bp tests upon asking. Not sure. They probably have the machine.

WickedPineapple

Has it been consistently high or was it just once? I've always had low to normal BP (100/70 or so). Last year I had a long bout of vertigo that I thought might have been caused by low BP, so I checked it at a pharmacy. It was 140/100! I went to the doctor and it was still high (he thought that the high BP was just stress). Once the vertigo went away, my BP was back down to normal (and has been since). A nurse also recently used this machine to check my BP and it was high. The doctor re-checked it manually and it was normal.

Another cause can be genetics. My sister has had high BP since her early 20s; she's never been overweight and has always eaten healthy and been very active. Even when I was obese and sedentary my BP was still low to normal. Not every health problem can be solved by diet and exercise, unfortunately. However, it might go down some when you lose weight.

aroycepung

My mother has hypertension. It is genetic, but she didn't start having problems until her 50s. She does have a way to take blood pressure at home, so I will try to record it when I visit her and go to a pharmacy periodically to check. I am actually in a healthcare grad school program but we do not have blood pressure cuffs available to us. I need to check again around the school though, and see if I am able to get my hands on one. Thanks for the feedback!

Aliciab1217

It could be your diet. I was a vegan for over ten years and even though I made sure I did it properly, it did more damage to my body than good. I ended up being hospitalized twice for cardiac issues related to the diet because it was putting an unnecessary amount of stress on my body. I tried very hard to make it work because I felt very strongly about the vegan lifestyle, however my body just did not seem to like the meat/dairy substitutes. I think this kind of diet can work for some people, but my body couldn't handle it and responded with extremely high blood pressure, irregular heart beat and rapid resting heart rate.

aroycepung

That's very interesting. I also tried veganism and I found that it did not work for me either. I had a very opposite experience going vegetarian though. I actually kind of accidentally became vegetarian because meat didn't appeal to me or seem to work for my body. One day I just realized that I almost never ate meat and I felt much better without it so I don't see my body being stressed. I also don't eat any meat or dairy substitutes. I stick to natural sources of food for the most part. I think you make a good point about listening to your body though. I find that to be extremely important.

Weary33

A few years ago, I quit smoking and gained a bit of weight....and suddenly had hypertension. Completely mystified...(who quits smoking and gets high blood pressure!!), I was sent to an Internist. My family doc immediately took me off of birth control, as estrogen can affect blood pressure. My Internist sent me to get an ultrasound of my renal arteries....and BAM: Renal Artery Stenosis. I have narrowed renal arteries, which causes your kidney to essentially freak out, and send out hormones 'demanding' more blood! Thus the cause of my hypertension. Sometimes you can actually have secondary hypertension.

Try and see a good doc. Sometimes it is just genetics, or weight....sometimes it isn't.

AnnPT77

As a long-term ovo-lacto vegetarian (41 years), I know that lots of different ways of eating (W.O.E.) fall under that label - both healthful WOEs and unhealthful ones. It's pretty easy to overdo saturated fats (even trans fats), overdo sodium, and even under-do veggies & fruits.

I can't speak to the genetic contribution (one of my parents had hypertension but was fat), but my BP has dropped dramatically with weight loss (5'5", SW 183, CW 122). I went from the pre-hypertension/hypertension borderline (140/80 or so) to well within a healthy range (last reading: 114/62). I can't give you a research cite, but also believe increasing fresh veggies & fruit is a plus . . . and mainstream sources like Mayo Clinic & American Heart Associate agree.

wrenak

I've needed medication to control my high blood pressure since I was 18 and an active 135 pounds. No known cause, it's just there. I have high hopes that I can reduce the amount of meds I take when I lose all my weight, but I am fully aware I will never get off them. There are many reasons for high bp. Your doc should work with you to figure out the cause of yours.

kpk54

aroycepung wrote: »

My mother has hypertension. It is genetic, but she didn't start having problems until her 50s. She does have a way to take blood pressure at home, so I will try to record it when I visit her and go to a pharmacy periodically to check. I am actually in a healthcare grad school program but we do not have blood pressure cuffs available to us. I need to check again around the school though, and see if I am able to get my hands on one. Thanks for the feedback!

Don't bank on being destined to high blood pressure. I thought I was too because, well my Mom had high BP as did my Grandma. I lost weight and started getting some regular exercise and I'm off BP meds and BP is normal without meds. My husband (not over weight) was on BP meds for a few years. Just like his Mom and his brother. He saw how my BP improved and decided to start walking. He's now off BP meds and has normal blood pressure.

We have both made it a habit to WALK to one of the local drugstores or supermarkets regularly to check our BP. Machines are usually back near the pharmacy. Good luck!

ElizabethOakes2

Walking every day has made a huge difference to my blood pressure. I used to be consistently in the high pre-hypertension range, and am now seeing normal readings 2 out of 3 times.
Check your sodium in your diet (lower is better) and make sure you're getting lots of high-potassium/high fiber foods, like yams, bananas, etc.

Honestly, I thought I was destined to be hypertensive, because my mother is and so is my older sister. Now I realize that my choices and my fitness level make a huge difference.

kshama2001

aroycepung wrote: »

24 year old female
current weight: 143
starting weight: 150
goal weight: 130
height: 5'2"

I recently discovered I have high blood pressure. I feel that I am too young and healthy to be having this problem. I have a generally healthy, active lifestyle. I have been a vegetarian for 8 years and have always eaten pretty well, but as a grad school student I formed some bad habits and gained over the last few years. I am hoping someone can give some insight, as I have been logging my food for 44 days so far and exercising more than ever. I'm making sure I follow my macros and have been happy with my weight loss so far. I do know that I have nerves at the doctor and that makes my blood pressure higher than normal, but it still shouldn't have been as high as it was. Any tips on lowering it besides exercise and watching sodium and fats?

Women, I'm wondering if anyone has problems with their birth control raising their blood pressure?

I really, really do not want to be put on medication this early in life. Especially since I am not extremely overweight. Any other young people dealing with this?

I once had my blood pressure taken right after I made plans for a first date with a really hot guy and my BP was 20 points higher than normal

My ex's was always high when he walked in the door, and when they retook it later, it would have come down.

KANGOOJUMPS

my doctor made me get off it and ever since I did, I am fine, nothing wrong. but everyone is different. I am glad I am off, I was bloaty too. and I tried many. happy to be off.

Psychgrrl

Most people with high blood pressure are advised to have a diet with 1500 mg or less of sodium a day. Also known as the DASH diet. What did your doc say?

xtina315

I have high bp and on meds. I'm 25, but I'm also very overweight. I would recommend cutting your sodium intake if you havent already. But it could also be genetic as well for you, since truly your not that over weight at all. My good friend is 120 and is under weight for her height, but has high bp and is on meds.

lorrpb

I'm sorry to hear this. It's always difficult to accept news like this. Some people in my family had hbp since very young. It was genetic. You MUST take care of it because it can cause SERIOUS problems like kidney failure and blindness if not cared for. One cousin required a kidney transplant in his early 30s because of hbp damage. It can be controlled and if medication is required, then take it. Do not mess around with this condition. Wish you the best.