Who knows a lot about blood pressure? Stress/anxiety affects?

ZeroTX
ZeroTX Posts: 179 Member
edited November 28 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

Working on losing weight (again.... again....) and my whole adult life I've had "marginal" BP, like 130/80 up to 140/90 as an absolute max. Not good, but docs have never seemed interested in treating it, just told me lose weight.

Last week I went in and it was 150/110. They checked again and got like 147/108. At home it was down slightly to about 147/104. I checked it over the weekend and at various times and it was 127/101 in the morning, but went up a little during the day.

Fast forward to last night... I took an anti-anxiety pill, two hours later, my reading was 117/89.... back closer to good/normal.

CAN STRESS AND ANXIETY REALLY MAKE THAT MUCH OF A BP DIFFERENCE??

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    It's not unusual to get slightly higher readings at the doctor's office, it's referred to as "white coat syndrome" hence most doctors don't go crazy of you're not at 120/80 or below.

    Being sleep deprived can affect your blood pressure as can stress, sodium etc. One thing I learned that my doctor had never mentioned to me was potassium intake. The RDA for an adult is 4,700mg per day and few people get close to that unless they're consciously tracking it, I track mine on MFP.

    heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/how-potassium-can-help-control-high-blood-pressure

  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited September 2018
    yes
    anecdotal experience
  • ZeroTX
    ZeroTX Posts: 179 Member
    Thanks for the input. I went to the doc. I'm now on a low dose of BP med (says takes a week to take effect) a long term anxiety med, and an incidental anxiety med as needed (that one not to be taken all the time). After just one dose, no change in BP except when on the Ativan. On Ativan, while at rest at home, it drops to normal range again. Bad thing, Ativan cannot be taken all the time, it's potentially addictive, and it makes me drowsy.
  • mnhtnbb
    mnhtnbb Posts: 11 Member
    Are you able to identify the cause(s) of your stress and anxiety? If so, are you talking to a therapist about ways to manage those issues independent of taking medications? It might be worth investigating, because living with constant stress/anxiety is not good for your overall health.
  • ZeroTX
    ZeroTX Posts: 179 Member
    I'm working on it, but the thinking about the high BP actually creates more stress/anxiety, so it's a vicious cycle. I woke up this morning feeling calm, probably had normal BP, then instantly began to think about my BP and I felt the anxiety rise up. By the time I got to my BP cuff to check it it was up to the same high range it's been sitting in most of the time.

    My question, really, is stress/anxiety possible as a cause to raise BP by 20 points?
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Stress can increase heart rate temporarily. An increased heart rate can increase blood pressure temporarily.

    When I was a firefighter at an oil refinery, we would have our blood pressure checked every time we would rotate out of an emergency situation (fire, leak, rescue). Genetics has my blood pressure running lower than average, when checked after an extreme high stress situation, it would skyrocket (90/45 is my normal - I've had as high as 210/100 after battling a severe fire when rescue is an unknown - we couldn't locate everyone and didn't know if someone was trapped). This is why for even small incidents, 3 to 6 times the personnel needed are called in - to rotate people out.

  • ZeroTX
    ZeroTX Posts: 179 Member
    Well, my heart rate is fairly normal between 72 and 85, usually around 80. It could be lower if I were in better physical shape, I guess, but everything I read online says 60-100 is normal. My systolic (top number) is falling in the same range as it has for as long as I can remember (120-130), but the bottom number has risen from about 80-85 to 95-105. Taking anxiety meds has on a couple of occasions brought it down, but not consistently so and still not as low as it was just a few months ago. I've been on BP meds now for 4 days (today is day 5, so cannot really count it since I take the pills in the morning). I am reading that the effectiveness is between 4 to 10 days, so maybe it just hasn't kicked in yet.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    I'm glad you're looking into this. I agree with those who suggest getting BP controlled while working on weight & anxiety, then go off BP med when/if ok'd by doc. BP has many harmful effects on your body, many of which cannot be reversed once the damage is done. You might "feel fine" but that doesn't mean BP is ok.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    A cognitive therapist can teach you a variety of relaxation technique to manage the anxiety. Anxiety is very treatable - which is preferable to taking addictive medications. By the way, drinking alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are all bad for the anxiety. With alcohol, you can get a rebound after the sedative effect wears off that leaves you even more anxious so a couple of cocktails is not a good way to self medicate.

    Yes, anxiety can cause your BP to go up -- one of the things they tried with me in the past to control my BP was an anxiolytic as well as losing weight since I had a history of anxiety disorders. I've been on BP meds for over 30 years, and now that I've lost a lot of weight my doc has discussed with me cutting back on the meds. My BP seems to track closely to my weight, but sodium in my diet doesn't seem to affect it that much. My current BP with meds is 126/74, a tad low for my age, so yes, the right meds can effectively control hypertension.
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    Those are pretty high BP readings. So now that you are on medication, I suggest that you also look into guided meditation and yoga. A lot of people scoff at those thing, but I am living proof that they can work to reduce stress and anxiety. I had a very high stress job, and I needed to find a way to offload the stress. I don't know why, but stretching your body in yoga is very relaxing. Don't feel self conscious and think you can't do that. In yoga you listen to your body and only do what you can do.
    Recently my BP has been running around 140/80 and my GP was satisfied with that (since he had me on BP meds), but I had a stress test and the cardiologist didn't like that BP and wants it lower, so I am on 2 additional low dose BP meds. They are keeping my BP at 113/70 or lower. And my heart rate was running at 99 consistently, but now it is down to 59 consistently.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,763 Member
    my bp went "normal" since I lost weight, but I had bad reaction to bp meds so I took Hawthorn for it & it really worked. I got it at the health food store/Whole Foods has it too
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    ZeroTX wrote: »
    Thanks for the input. I went to the doc. I'm now on a low dose of BP med (says takes a week to take effect) a long term anxiety med, and an incidental anxiety med as needed (that one not to be taken all the time). After just one dose, no change in BP except when on the Ativan. On Ativan, while at rest at home, it drops to normal range again. Bad thing, Ativan cannot be taken all the time, it's potentially addictive, and it makes me drowsy.

    What dose of Ativan so they give you?

    I get 0.5 mg which at my weight is not very effective.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    White Coat Syndrome has me reading as pre-hypertensive in the doctor's office. An *incident* had my blood pressure reading at 170/100 once. I would say that sufficient stress will definitively raise your blood pressure. Ironically, I believe the incident was caused by a doctor's concern regarding my pre-hypertensive BP. The office called me with results of a routine physical, which they would not release over the phone. When I arrived to recieve my results in person, I was denied by the receptionist, who smugly told me that I would need to make an appointment. When I refused to leave without my results, they called the police - and because I had made a remark about "doing something drastic" following their refusal to release my results, the police had cause to take me to the hospital for a psych evaluation. I still have ill will against that receptionist, but can't fault the police - they were very professional. For the record, and I don't know why I wasn't quick enough to offer the explanation to the police, I meant something more along the lines of binge-eating an entire cheesecake. I didn't (and still don't) have enough hair to claim I meant to shave it all off like Britney Spears...

    I did get my records without an appointment. I did not accept a prescription for BP meds. My BP still rises when I think about the incident. Not to the degree they recorded in the ER for the psych eval, but probably still to a measurable degree. And it has not helped me get over the White Coat Syndrome even a little bit. You've got my sympathy. I'm sorry I have no useful advice to offer, though.
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    For those with White Coat Syndrome, has your Dr. ever asked you to take your BP at home for about 2 weeks and bring in the results? If you are high at home too, then you are likely hypertensive and not just suffering from White Coast Syndrome.
  • DoubleUbea
    DoubleUbea Posts: 1,115 Member
    edited September 2018
    I created a blood pressure log spreadsheet for anyone to use. If you have gmail copy it over to your account. (upper right) if you have excel download it from the file menu.
    http://bit.ly/BP-log
    (I am not sure how well the graphs will work in excel)
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    elsie6hickman wrote: »
    For those with White Coat Syndrome, has your Dr. ever asked you to take your BP at home for about 2 weeks and bring in the results? If you are high at home too, then you are likely hypertensive and not just suffering from White Coast Syndrome.

    Not in my case, but I don't have pre-hypertensive measurements when I go to donate blood, nor when I measure on a machine at the drug store. Only at the doctor's office - specifically the OB-Gyn, who wanted to deny a prescription to birth control pills because of it, and then it started to be an issue at the GP's office as well. Still a non-issue when donating blood. I find it ridiculous and frustrating.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    ZeroTX wrote: »
    I'm working on it, but the thinking about the high BP actually creates more stress/anxiety, so it's a vicious cycle. I woke up this morning feeling calm, probably had normal BP, then instantly began to think about my BP and I felt the anxiety rise up. By the time I got to my BP cuff to check it it was up to the same high range it's been sitting in most of the time.

    My question, really, is stress/anxiety possible as a cause to raise BP by 20 points?

    In brief, yes
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    ZeroTX wrote: »
    Well, my heart rate is fairly normal between 72 and 85, usually around 80. It could be lower if I were in better physical shape, I guess, but everything I read online says 60-100 is normal. My systolic (top number) is falling in the same range as it has for as long as I can remember (120-130), but the bottom number has risen from about 80-85 to 95-105. Taking anxiety meds has on a couple of occasions brought it down, but not consistently so and still not as low as it was just a few months ago. I've been on BP meds now for 4 days (today is day 5, so cannot really count it since I take the pills in the morning). I am reading that the effectiveness is between 4 to 10 days, so maybe it just hasn't kicked in yet.

    The bottom number is the one you really care about. The low number being high is a problem even if the other is perfect.
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