Blood pressure lower with HIGHER sodium?

sassylilmama

Despite weight loss my BP has been an ongoing issue. Even with meds my BP stays high, and tests have shown no obvious reason for it to be high. (ultrasounds, ekg's etc) Currently I am on no meds and my BP has been the same as when I was on meds. Except for weekends I let loose and eat foods I normally do not. On these weekends my sodium is always much higher. Oddly enough on these weekends my BP goes WAY down, even into the normal range. And with the exception pf pregnancies my BP was normal when I was obese.

Of course I know I need to bring this to my doctors attention but I am curious as to if anyone else has heard of this. Is it possible my body reacts better to more sodium?

neanderthin

Lots of things can effect blood pressure. For some the weekend means much less stress and people kind of zen out.......this will reduce blood pressure, not the chronic kind of course. Many other stressors have similar effect. I wouldn't chalk it up to salt, because it does require more blood to pump. Salt intake has very little to do with chronic stress, which is basically high blood pressure.

AZKristi

That is an interesting observation that should certainly be mentioned to your doctor. Hopefully it is the result of reduced stress on the weekends. Blood pressure is tightly controlled by the renin-angiotensin pathway. If you are discovering that the normal meds used to control this pathway (and thus your blood pressure) are not having the intended affect, or the things that trigger changes in bp are unusual, your doctor should know. It may be necessary to make sure there is no underlying kidney or adrenal disease that is causing the abnormal bp.

Keep logging your food and tracking your bp closely. Take this info with you to your doctor's appointment.