Blood Pressure Question

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ShadowSoldier23
ShadowSoldier23 Posts: 321 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I haven't posted in a very long time and I hope that this is the appropriate section. I figured there have to be a few MFP users who may be able to help me here.

My husbands blood pressure was sky high last night, reaching as high as 183/110 yesterday and getting lower at 146/89. We went to the ER but they couldn't really give us much of an answer although the nurse practitioner suggested that it may be anxiety. Can anxiety really cause BP to go so high though? His uncle has high blood pressure issues and there is a family history of heart conditions. My husband is 33, 228lbs and 5' 11"

I know we need to watch his sodium intake and he needs to start exercising for sure. What else helps with BP?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I treat my hypertension with meds...I rock my nutrition and my fitness and am very healthy and fit. My hypertension cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone, I have to have meds. Diet and exercise and being a healthy weight has helped decrease my dosage but I still have to have meds.

    And yes, anxiety and stress can send your BP through the roof.
  • ShadowSoldier23
    ShadowSoldier23 Posts: 321 Member
    Options
    I treat my hypertension with meds...I rock my nutrition and my fitness and am very healthy and fit. My hypertension cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone, I have to have meds. Diet and exercise and being a healthy weight has helped decrease my dosage but I still have to have meds.

    And yes, anxiety and stress can send your BP through the roof.

    I definitely understand that if it's bad enough it has to be treated with medication. I am making him go to our health department clinic next week and see a doctor. He is just trying to brush it off as nothing, but I'm pretty worried about it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    Options
    I treat my hypertension with meds...I rock my nutrition and my fitness and am very healthy and fit. My hypertension cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone, I have to have meds. Diet and exercise and being a healthy weight has helped decrease my dosage but I still have to have meds.

    And yes, anxiety and stress can send your BP through the roof.

    I definitely understand that if it's bad enough it has to be treated with medication. I am making him go to our health department clinic next week and see a doctor. He is just trying to brush it off as nothing, but I'm pretty worried about it.

    He should definitely monitor it regularly...I was diagnosed with my hypertension at 34 and brushed it off for a couple of years before I realized the seriousness of it. Untreated it can really cause a lot of problems. My dad had it and didn't treat it for years and ended up with kidney disease as a result...he was stage IV when he passed away just before Christmas at the ripe old age of 61. My Grandpa had it and never treated it and a blood vessel in his brain exploded and killed him at 70.
  • Mygsds
    Mygsds Posts: 1,564 Member
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    Anxiety can raise it tremendously. What helped me the most was walking. I was on meds for 9 months lost over 40 lbs and still had to depend on the meds. Once I started walking, it came down and off all medications for it. Get a good check up and ask your doc about walking. Best to you ..
  • Deadlay
    Deadlay Posts: 135 Member
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    Although it's important to be aware of, blood pressure is affected by a lot of things. To get an accurate measurement, have him sit for several minutes before taking a reading. Do this over a few days and see what the numbers are showing. A one time high reading does not mean he has high blood pressure but also don't let him brush it off.

    Something a lot of people aren't aware of is that cuff size matters! Make sure your arm fits in the range of the cuff...too small and you'll get a false high and too big and you'll get a false low. A lot of health care workers just grab the same cuff and use it on everyone.

    Diet and exercise help with regulating BP but sometimes you can't beat genetics...good luck!
  • ShadowSoldier23
    ShadowSoldier23 Posts: 321 Member
    Options
    I treat my hypertension with meds...I rock my nutrition and my fitness and am very healthy and fit. My hypertension cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone, I have to have meds. Diet and exercise and being a healthy weight has helped decrease my dosage but I still have to have meds.

    And yes, anxiety and stress can send your BP through the roof.

    I definitely understand that if it's bad enough it has to be treated with medication. I am making him go to our health department clinic next week and see a doctor. He is just trying to brush it off as nothing, but I'm pretty worried about it.

    He should definitely monitor it regularly...I was diagnosed with my hypertension at 34 and brushed it off for a couple of years before I realized the seriousness of it. Untreated it can really cause a lot of problems. My dad had it and didn't treat it for years and ended up with kidney disease as a result...he was stage IV when he passed away just before Christmas at the ripe old age of 61. My Grandpa had it and never treated it and a blood vessel in his brain exploded and killed him at 70.

    Wow, that is pretty scary. I am not going to let him try to get out of taking care of it, that's for sure.
  • ShadowSoldier23
    ShadowSoldier23 Posts: 321 Member
    Options
    Although it's important to be aware of, blood pressure is affected by a lot of things. To get an accurate measurement, have him sit for several minutes before taking a reading. Do this over a few days and see what the numbers are showing. A one time high reading does not mean he has high blood pressure but also don't let him brush it off.

    Something a lot of people aren't aware of is that cuff size matters! Make sure your arm fits in the range of the cuff...too small and you'll get a false high and too big and you'll get a false low. A lot of health care workers just grab the same cuff and use it on everyone.

    Diet and exercise help with regulating BP but sometimes you can't beat genetics...good luck!

    We actually monitored his BP all day yesterday after he told me his vision was blurry. That was why I started getting worried in the first place. He had a work injury in November and the doctor (months after injury) brought up his BP being high so I've been trying to keep it in mind. Our cuff is a wrist cuff and i make him hold it up to his chest when he does it. I told him to start doing readings at least twice a day.
  • mspoopoo
    mspoopoo Posts: 500 Member
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    Have you family doctor order up a 24 hour blood pressure study. They will put on an accurate blood pressure monitor that will take a reading every 30 minutes. That will give a true reading of what is going on.Then the doctor can prescribe proper meds if needed.

    See a nutritionist. Have him log his food intake and see how much he is eating. Have him start to lose some weight and get daily exercise. Walking an hour a day every day.

    BP is serious and he shouldn't blow it off.
  • SamGray88
    SamGray88 Posts: 1 Member
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    You're on the right track. A lower sodium intake plus a higher potassium intake will help. Getting to a lower body fat percentage will also help. Stress can make blood pressure higher, for some people just being at the doctors office is enough to raise blood pressure.
  • BigTireFlipper
    BigTireFlipper Posts: 116 Member
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    I have high BP that I'm on meds for. I have to really pay attention to my sodium intake. If he's not currently watching his you should probably get him to track it for a week to see what his average daily intake is. Caffeine intake and his weight is a big player in this as well. Take those things into consideration as you and he make an appointment to see his doc. If he can take daily pressure readings at the same time every day that will help the doc out. Hopefully the doc will say "lose weight, cut down salt, drink decaf, and take these meds" and things will go back to acceptable levels.

    If the upper number hits 180 or the lower one goes over 110 then that is classified as a hypertensive crisis and he needs to get evaluated immediately. He doesn't want to procrastinate on this. High BP leads to stuff like enlarged hearts and worse.
  • BigTireFlipper
    BigTireFlipper Posts: 116 Member
    Options
    You're on the right track. A lower sodium intake plus a higher potassium intake will help. Getting to a lower body fat percentage will also help. Stress can make blood pressure higher, for some people just being at the doctors office is enough to raise blood pressure.

    His doc may disagree with the potassium point you're making. I was actually told specifically NOT to increase my potassium intake since doing so would put undue stress on my liver. Age is a big factor in this too.
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    Options
    Although it's important to be aware of, blood pressure is affected by a lot of things. To get an accurate measurement, have him sit for several minutes before taking a reading. Do this over a few days and see what the numbers are showing. A one time high reading does not mean he has high blood pressure but also don't let him brush it off.

    Something a lot of people aren't aware of is that cuff size matters! Make sure your arm fits in the range of the cuff...too small and you'll get a false high and too big and you'll get a false low. A lot of health care workers just grab the same cuff and use it on everyone.

    Diet and exercise help with regulating BP but sometimes you can't beat genetics...good luck!

    We actually monitored his BP all day yesterday after he told me his vision was blurry. That was why I started getting worried in the first place. He had a work injury in November and the doctor (months after injury) brought up his BP being high so I've been trying to keep it in mind. Our cuff is a wrist cuff and i make him hold it up to his chest when he does it. I told him to start doing readings at least twice a day.

    The fact that he was symptomatic is concerning, as is the diastole being high (the bottom number). Whilst anxiety can influence BP it would also usually be associated with a higher heart rate and respiratory rate. Did they do an ecg or any bloods? Generally low grade hypertension is rarely treated in emergency departments and we would generally refer back to the GP, so just because nothing was initiated by your emergency visit I would still strongly encourage you to get him back to your own doctor.

    I would also be extremely cautious about increasing potassium intake until he's been fully checked out, particularly with his renal function.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    I treat my hypertension with meds...I rock my nutrition and my fitness and am very healthy and fit. My hypertension cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone, I have to have meds. Diet and exercise and being a healthy weight has helped decrease my dosage but I still have to have meds.

    And yes, anxiety and stress can send your BP through the roof.

    I definitely understand that if it's bad enough it has to be treated with medication. I am making him go to our health department clinic next week and see a doctor. He is just trying to brush it off as nothing, but I'm pretty worried about it.

    Yes anxiety can bring it on, but at the same time, even when it came down it was high. The higher numbers he had are life threatening. From blood pressure like that things like stokes happen. As someone who has had a stroke and who because of that is in contact with people who have had strokes, some because of high blood pressure, this is something he needs to deal with. It won't go away on it own.

    Weight loss and exercise may help, but at the same time they may not. It is important to see a doctor and start on a plan to control his blood pressure. That may include starting medication now which he may be able to reduce or eliminate by losing weight and exercising regularly, or it may start with losing weight and exercising while monitoring his BP to see how it responds.
  • ShadowSoldier23
    ShadowSoldier23 Posts: 321 Member
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    Thanks for all of the help everyone. The hospital ran all kinds of test but they weren't "conclusive" because they wanted to do a stress test. My husband refused to stay overnight for it because we have no insurance. Money is going to be the biggest concern with doctors but I am going to call tomorrow to the local health department where they can by our income.

    I know that this needs to be checked, he has been checking at least once a day and the last 3 days have been closer to normal bp around 120-140/90 or so.

    I brought up stroke and heart attack to him and it is a concern to me. I appreciate all the help, I guess its on to the doctors now.

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