posted
Can one of you point me to a site that's basically high blood pressure for dummies? I don't know anything about it at all, and about the only thing I've seen is "Wow - high blood pressure can kill you!"
Mine's been high since November and currently my doc is having me check it a few times a week at home. He said that anything from 140/90 and above needs to be treated. Mine was exactly that in both arms last time in his office, but the last few readings have been 130/100 or so. Is that better or worse? Thanks!
posted
AFAIK, total counts, and yours stays the same, although the first number is the one to be really worried about. So yours is somewhere between better and the same? Okay, I know nothing.
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posted
Huh. So, looks like taken individually, that 100 is enough to warrant calling your doctor?
Which is what I would do anyway if I were this confused about something happening to me. (I am so confused!)
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posted
When my ex had high blood pressure, I know they were real concerned if the lower number was higher than 90. You want a larger gap between your high and low number
I have an appointment in a few more weeks - the dr. is going to take the average of all my readings and see what we need to do. I was just curious is it was getting better or not; I guess it doesn't look like it. Or maybe so - at one reading in the dr's office it was 152/90.
posted
Hypertension is an interesting disease. One of the most interesting things about it is, we ourselves keep redefining it. The latest info is printed in JNC 7, the newest expert publication on the matter. We doctors are supposed to conform to JNC 7 to some extent.
We used to think that BP a little over 140/90 was the time to start talking about diet, exercise, low salt. If the person was rather elderly, 140/90 would be considered ok.
Now we say that NORMAL blood pressure is 120/80 or less. Blood pressures 120-139 systolic and 80-89 diastolic are now considered prehypertension and people are supposed to start thinking diet/exercise/low salt. Once 140/90 consistently, medication should be started. For diabetics, that magic number is 130/80.
One thing that recent studies have shown is that for every 20 points systolic blood pressure rises, the risk of heart attack and stroke doubles. So if SO's blood pressure is on average 140 she has twice the heart attack/stroke risk than if she got her blood pressure down to 120. And if her blood pressure was consistently 160 she would have four times higher risk.
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posted
So in the long run, getting blood pressure down to 120/80 or less is worthwhile. Acutely, however, walking around with a blood pressure of 160/100 isn't going to cause a hemorrhagic stroke. SO Space Opera has time to get data.
Remember to check blood pressure on a good machine. Mechanica wrist cuffs are not usually as accurate as upper arm cuffs. You can find school nurses or firemen to check blood pressures for free, too. The arm should be at the level of the heart, and relaxed. You should relax several minutes before checking it. If you are all stressed out and near hysteria about the readings, then find a way to calm down about it first. Get blood pressures at different times of day, different days. That'll all be good data for the doctor. Also, if you see a surprisingly high number and you know why it is high, jot down a brief note on the reason.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Thanks for the info Theca! The doc did tell me to just write down the numbers and not worry about them - perhaps I should be doing that. He did mention not using the salt shaker and using alcohol very little, but both are things I've always done. He's reeealllly laid back, which I like, so that was how he left it till my next appointment. My mother has high blood pressure; I remember her taking meds for it when I was little. I hope I don't have to do that! Thanks again.
posted
I have really high blood pressure, numbers unknown, but I'm 20, and in pretty good shape. Should I diet and exercise more? That could end up being unhealthy.
Posts: 1156 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Basically, if you are already on a healthy diet and watch the salt and you exercise 4-5 times a week and your blood pressure is still "really high" then you should be on medication. Because "really high" blood pressure puts a strain on the heart and kidneys and can lead to lots of problems later in life, not to mention the increased chance of heart attack and stroke.
Of course my idea of really high blood pressure and yours might be entirely different. So see your doctor.
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posted
I planned on going before i have to cope with the indignity of that prostate checky thing. It gives me shivers and i have like ten years to go.
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posted
Good plan, air. 10 more years of no treatment for really high blood pressure can just cause irreversible kidney failure and permanent heart enlargement. That's all.
Morbo, there is no way to tell a salt sensitive person. I don't really push the low salt diet that hard in clinic. First off, most patients won't do it. Second, they won't keep it up. Third, they may not be salt sensitive anyway. I mainly focus on the ones who eat out every day or live on canned soups and veggies. I've got some elderly patients who actually do that, it's not just the young bachelors. Then there's the guy who discovered how yummy kosher salt is (is it really that different? ) and he put it on all his foods and his pressures rose over 30 points and he started having to go to ER for nosebleeds. And the guy that replaced lunch with a big bag o pretzels every day to cut down on calories. His pressures rose 20 points too. I knew a nephrologist who used to ask patients how often they had to buy salt for their cooking. If the answer wasn't something like never, or every 5-10 years, then he'd start asking more questions.
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posted
A very good friend of mine from church, in his mid-40s -- a couple years ago began to feel a little woozy/dizzy at work, but ignored it and made the four hour drive home. Refused to see a doctor. Finally his wife convinced him to go down to the local fire station and have his BP checked (he hadn't been to a doctor in years, and had no prior history).
The fireman taking the blood pressure seemed to not believe his reading, and took it several times. Finally he told my friend that he would only let him leave the fire station if he would promise to drive immediately to ER at the hospital down the street (to me, this was stupid - the fireman should have taken him). My friend agreed, and went to ER - sheepishly saying the fireman had told him to come in after taking his blood pressure. THe nurse took his blood pressure (he doesn't remember the number, but remembers hearing it was over 200) and immediately after that, he stroked. Right there in the hospital. If you're gonna stroke, that is a good place to do it. Immediate care, and he is nearly fully recovered, although still has some residual problems from it.
Check your bp quite regularly, airman. Not worth the risk.
posted
Wes will kill me for saying this, because he says it is annoying to constantly have citizens coming by for blood pressure checks , but if you're worried and want it checked by someone else but don't want to go to the doctor usually your city's fire department have paramedics that will check it for free. (I know Theca said this but wanted to re-iterate) Keep a log, and bring that log with you, when you come and let them write it down for you so you have a good record.
Do keep in mind though, that they aren't doctors and can't give you medical advice.
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I know the firemen here sometime complain about it to.... but it is for those people who simply WON'T go to the doctor, or are scared of doctors, etc. For them, it is great that firemen do it. And just once in awhile, you never know, they might be saving someone's life (like my story above).
FG p.s. - and it keeps the firemen's skills sharp.
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He did mention not using the salt shaker and using alcohol very little, but both are things I've always done. He's reeealllly laid back, which I like, so that was how he left it till my next appointment. My mother has high blood pressure; I remember her taking meds for it when I was little. I hope I don't have to do that! Thanks again.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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) and he put it on all his foods and his pressures rose over 30 points and he started having to go to ER for nosebleeds. And the guy that replaced lunch with a big bag o pretzels every day to cut down on calories. His pressures rose 20 points too. I knew a nephrologist who used to ask patients how often they had to buy salt for their cooking. If the answer wasn't something like never, or every 5-10 years, then he'd start asking more questions.
