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Posted 4/28/2005 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have a friend who is always sick.  He has  now come up with a blood pressure reading today at his drs as 150/70 and is panicking and telling my husband that the Dr thinks he has really high blood pressure.  He gave him no meds and said that he is really worried about this.   My question is...is 150/70 really high?? I thought the worry number is the under number not the upper one.  He is a big salt eater..and uses so much salt on his food that it is scary and he eats out all the time and when I mentioned that he should cut back on his salt he told me that I didn't know what I was talkign about.   I do medical transcription and looks to me that 150/70 is not that bad for a 65 year old, otherwise healthy man...except for being a hypocondriac with ADD and bipolar syndrome. sad
Posted 4/28/2005 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
you need to tell your friend you do know what you are talking about, and that he needs to cut back on the salt, but he should monitor his bloodpressure at home and not at the doctors office. they have a syndrome called "white coat sydrone" where people get very nervous in the doctors office, so their blood pressure rises while there because they are nervous. tell him he needs to get a blood screening to see where his cholestrol is at. i went to the doctor, and my blood pressure was like 150 over 100, so he told me to go home and monitor it myself then check back with him in a month. right now i keep getting readings of anywhere between 120/80- to 140/80, which is normal. but i also have a problem with anxiety, which i can tell because on my anxious days its 140/80 and on my good days im 120/80. but tell him about the blood screen, because when i took that it came back cholestrol uncer 150, which is awsome, and everything else was below what it should be and above what it should be. but tell him that he has time to get his blood pressure undercontrol. he is just in denial right now. I am only 24, but am very conscious now of blood pressure, because it won't kill you now, but if gone unchecked it will lead to bad things such as heart attacks and strokes. but let him know there is hope, but he has to accept the fact he had high blood pressure and to do osmething about it before it is to late.
Posted 4/28/2005 11:37 PM (GMT 0)

Hi and Welcome to HealingWell Bobbisew and Sober for Good! tongue

I'm glad to meet you both! 

I'm sorry about your friend, Bobbisew, but these days blood pressure has really come under the microscope and they do look at even a systolic reading (top #) BP reading of 150/70 as something to watch.  Is it a fluke?, is it continuous?  Well, until he has his BP checked more often as Sober for Good mentioned, he won't know the answer.

The American Heart Association says;

"Blood pressure below 120 over 80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) is considered optimal for adults. A systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered "prehypertension" and needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered elevated (high)."

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4473

My suggestion would be to continue to support your friend and suggest that perhaps that he invest in a BP monitor and keep a record of his BP, or go into his Dr.'s office on a daily basis for at least a week and ask the nurse there to check his blood pressure after he's rested for a few minutes.  That's really only the accurate way to get a good reading.  I would also recommend to him that he read more up on this problem and to definitely discuss this with his Dr., or nurse re his use of salt.

And Sober for good, you made some really good points especially re the white coat syndrome, and the anxiety~there are many with this problem.

So again welcome to you both and here's hoping to see you again soon! yeah

Teri tongue

Posted 4/29/2005 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
I reckon mine is a little high then.went to doc yesterday and it was 153/92.get to take another BP med,yippee
Posted 4/29/2005 4:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hiya Ricky!

 

I've missed seeing you here and hope that you are doing okay...oh, of course, other than your blood pressure?!

 

Hugs, Teri tongue

Posted 4/29/2005 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not a doctor. I'm just a 57 yo guy with CAD (and some other stuff.) But for me, a BP reading of 150/70 makes my day absolutely wonderful! For a while I was running at about 189/107...then I got on some different meds and it dropped the average to around 150/80. This was a real good improvement. But the last week has been extremely stressful (what with retirement issues and all) and it's been up around 170/106, even on the new meds. The Imdur and Nitro help some, but it's still higher than it was a week or two ago.

I take my BP at home with a cuff machine...pretty much like the automatic ones they use in the hospitals. So there's no white coat syndrome. But I can sure tell how stress affects it. Sends it right into orbit.

Again, I'd be dancin a jig in the street if my BP was constitently 150/70.

I'll be seein the cardiologist again this morning and asking him to increase the dosage of Imdur....which is at the very lowest dose right now.
Posted 4/29/2005 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
Ray, i agree with you. Im on at least three bp meds and my bp still runs high. My bp yesterday and today has been 204/97 in the endo's office and in the gp's office. This could be due to a stressful situation from yesterday when a bldg inspector visited my home.

However, my bp has been of off since starting clonidine .01 4x daily. Also i am now having high dialstolic number as well. When i mentioned this to the gp today, he checked me and said it was arthritis. However, the pain in my neck just started with clonidine, along with stuffy nose and ear pain.

Monday, i'll probably be looking for a new gp.
Posted 4/30/2005 12:55 AM (GMT 0)
I can sure relate to the stressful situations and the correlation to BP increase. Big time. I didn't know anything about Clonidine until you mentioned it and I had to do a little research. I found that muscle and joint pain were reported as side effects, but not in real high numbers. The most common side effects are dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness, constipation and sedation (I thought drowsiness and sedation were about the same thing.)

But like I mentioned in another post, I think that looking at just one indicator canbe misleading. Just my opinion, tho.

I'm also on 3 BP meds: Cozaar, Coreg and Imdur...plus a buncha other stuff. I figger I got enough chemicals in my bloodstream to be declared a toxic waste dump. But some of them actually seem to be helping, so I guess it's better than leeching or blood-letting. :)

btw, I just started on the increased dosage of Imdur today...and so far, no nitro. It's been nice to take deep breaths without pain. I could get to like that.
Posted 4/30/2005 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
Ray, is imur a bp med? If so, what class does it falls under? Since i have to take the increased dosage of verapamil, i have started having angina again. I can't get a prescription for nitro. I don't know why.
Posted 4/30/2005 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
It's ImDur, not imur. Generic name Isosorbride. It's a time-release vasodilator. Nitro is an immediate vasodilator. They are both Nitrates that open up the blood vessels. The main problem I'm aware of with these drugs is that they lower BP. In my case, that's a very good thing. But for someone who has low BP to begin with, it's not a good deal. A little searching on the web can show you who can and who shouldn't take nitrates. I just went to google.com and typed in imdur...I got a whole lotta hits, and I just selected the first few and read them.

I dunno if it's ok to post urls to sites with drug information or not....so I'll just suggest that you "google it" and check it out yourself.

hth (Hope This Helps)
Posted 4/30/2005 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
Citing url's is okay, as long as the site is reputable and isn't selling something, and we can't reference other heart boards. Teri :)
Posted 5/1/2005 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
ok...here they are:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682348.html
http://www.drugs.com/imdur.html
Posted 5/1/2005 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi jtu!

 

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker~it actually helps to relax and widen the blood vessels and that makes it easier for the heart to pump and reduce its workload.  That may be enough in some people to help reduce the angina.  Have you continued to have a lot of angina?

There may be some contraindications with some other health issue that you have, or medication that you are taking, but the easiest way to find out, if you can't find it on your own...is to ask your Dr., or Pharmacist.

Hugs, Teri tongue

Posted 5/1/2005 1:55 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Ray and Teri. I will search for "Imdur'. Teri, i know verapamil is a ccb and how it works. It does help with the angina, but since my gp added another 120mgs, i've noticed the tightness in the chest.

I mentioned it to him yesterday and he said no it can't be the verapamil. All i know is that when i omit the extra 120mgs in the evening i don't have angina. As a matter of fact, i haven't suffered with angina in quite a while.

I don't think i'll take the 120mg verapamil.
Posted 5/1/2005 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
jtu, it is your decision to make, but I would never quit a medication without first consulting with a Dr., or Pharmacist.   Some medications need to be stopped slowly so as not to cause any other repercussions.

 

You mentioned you could not get a prescription for nitro and you didn't know why?-perhaps as you've not suffered for a while with angina??  I don't know.

Usually they give you a prescription to keep handy in case you do need it in an emergency. 

 

Hugs, Teri tongue

Posted 5/1/2005 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
If you have a cuff or other BP unit at home, do some averaging. AM-mid day-PM for 5-7 days. An average is closer to your BP than a single reading.

I do this before a PCP visit and have the average reading for him. I usually am between 110/70 to 140/84 at his office but if it happens to be up a little, the average number calms him down and I do not get excited if the number is up a little. My average generally is around 130/84 and at age 66, that's fine.
Posted 5/2/2005 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Rudy!

I'm glad to see you back! yeah Good advice, too!!

 

Teri tongue

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