Hi everyone!

I'm new here. I'm 32 years old and might have high blood pressure. I'm not overweight but I don't exercise regularly. Here's my history:

I had a baby 4 1/2 months ago, blood pressure was normal during pregnancy but spiked really high during delivery and after. Went back to the Dr. at 2 and 8 weeks postpartum and it was normal (well, normal high - 120/80).

Last month I found out I have SIX kidney stones. I had one removed surgically, during that time my B/P was SKY HIGH. However, I HATE hospitals so I thought it was anxiety. So I followed up with my GP and it was still high so she said to test it at home. I have been, it's generally in the 120-130's/80's. So that's prehypertension right?

Do you think I should go on medication? Do you know if the kidney stones would be causing this or related in any way? My GP says it's probably Pregnancy Induced Hypertension that just isn't going to go away. GREAT. Can you really get that and have it never fade?

I SO SCARED I'm about to have a heart attack or stroke at any minute! I also don't want to get more kidney stones out b/c I fear how high my B/P will get in the hospital. Can't they give me something for anxiety and that will keep my B/P lower while in there?

Any advice on anything, medicines, tests I should ask for etc, would be appreciated. I know I shouldn't worry, it will make it worse, but I can't help it!

Oh and one final question when taking b/p at home the machine says sit quietly for 5 minutes. If I take it at 1 minute it's like 138/88, at 5 minutes it's down to 125/84 sometimes. Which one is the most accurate? With 3 kids 4 and under I am VERY rarely sitting like that!

Thanks so much!

Linda

I would calm down if I were you. The numbers you cite are numbers most people on this board would be weeping for joy to have. 120/80 is NOT high normal, it is normal!!! The "prehypertensive" thing is largely rhetorical...a way to tell people "Look, your BP MAY be creeping up, so pay more attention to diet, exercise, etc. and start a dialogue with your doctor over it."

That 138/88 you got (which is not bad BTW) sounds a lot like an anxiety reading; when you are freaked out, your BP goes up, often WAY higher than this!

SO, what to do. First of all, you will NOT have a stroke or heart attack with numbers like those!!! My closest friend has had BP at 160/100 for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS and his blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, etc as of last year when he underwent a battery of tests are still just fine.

What you want to do is start taking your BP everyday, same time and keep a log. You may have or develop "cuff anxiety" where your numbers will seem higher to you then they should be. If they jump up and down, you have cuff anxiety. You really only want to be concerned when the top number stays at or above 140 and/or the bottom number stays at or above 90 for several weeks of readings.

You want to assess your lifestyle: are you exercising, losing weight, cutting out salt, eating healthy (see DASH diet), looking into supplements, etc.?

Others will tell you that you have been given a "pink flag" (vs. a red flag!) to monitor your BP and your lifestyle.

BTW kidney stones are probably NOT related to BP.

Good luck and stay calm!

acp

Thank you SO much! You have made me feel a lot better.

My readings are generally 125-135/85ish. Sometimes I get a freak 140/95 in the evening, or a totally normal first thing in the morning.

One question is this though: If at one BP session, I take it say 3 times, and the numbers vary a lot, which do I "count" for my log? The lowest? I take it 3 times normally b/c I DO have cuff anxiety and I can always count on the first one being a good 10 pts higher than the next two.

One more question, can anxiety (in life) make your B/P high? I've been feeling REALLY anxious a lot of the time lately. I'm not sure if my hormones are out of whack after the birth of my 3rd DD or what. I feel overwhelmed (by all the work 3 a baby 2 and 4 year old cause and keeping up the house) so I'm wondering if my issue is anxiety. I feel like a LOSER asking about this b/c if my problem is anxiety over everything or postpartum hormones I don't know.....COULD anxiety be making my b/p go up and all that is postpartum hormones out of whack? I certainly don't feel like I have PP depression, but I am anxious a lot and I NEVER was before.

Thanks!

Linda

Thank you SO much! You have made me feel a lot better.

My readings are generally 125-135/85ish. Sometimes I get a freak 140/95 in the evening, or a totally normal first thing in the morning.

One question is this though: If at one BP session, I take it say 3 times, and the numbers vary a lot, which do I "count" for my log? The lowest? I take it 3 times normally b/c I DO have cuff anxiety and I can always count on the first one being a good 10 pts higher than the next two.

>>>>>Others will disagree, but I would suggest NOT taking BP multiple times a day, as that can increase anxiety. It is normal for MOST people to have 2nd and 3rd readings drop. For me, they actually increase the more I take them, which is why I only take them once.

One more question, can anxiety (in life) make your B/P high? I've been feeling REALLY anxious a lot of the time lately. I'm not sure if my hormones are out of whack after the birth of my 3rd DD or what. I feel overwhelmed (by all the work 3 a baby 2 and 4 year old cause and keeping up the house) so I'm wondering if my issue is anxiety. I feel like a LOSER asking about this b/c if my problem is anxiety over everything or postpartum hormones I don't know.....COULD anxiety be making my b/p go up and all that is postpartum hormones out of whack? I certainly don't feel like I have PP depression, but I am anxious a lot and I NEVER was before.

>>>>Anxiety can and does raise your BP, massively in some cases. 20-40 points is a typical "anxiety burst". That in and of itself does not cause problems. BUT if the spikes are very high, like say 160s-200s, and they happen often, then you want to speak to your doctor about it ASAP.

...One more question, can anxiety (in life) make your B/P high? I've been feeling REALLY anxious a lot of the time lately. I'm not sure if my hormones are out of whack after the birth of my 3rd DD or what....
Linda

Linda,

The relationship between emotional stress and hypertension is very controversial. Although certain stressful situations can temporarily raise blood pressure, there is no conclusive evidence that reducing stress can treat hypertension (or in other words, no evidence to prove that stress causes high blood pressure).

There is conclusive evidence that diet, exercise, breathing techniques (although stress reduction may also be a benefit here, it is thought that the Nitric --or nitrous, I can never remember which is which and they are VERY different-- levels change with increased oxygen, and these levels impact blood pressure regulation), smoking and alcohol reduction/elimination, etc can reduce blood pressure.

Hormonal levels for women may have a huge impact on bp regulation. I suspect that's what's going on with you now....and contributing to your ability to deal with your daily stress. OB GYN's usually know this, but heart doctors do too...women are somewhat protected from heart disease until they approach/enter menopause, and then the risk increases...it's the hormones!

Although meds shouldn't be necessary, your numbers could use some improvement but read up on lifestyle modifications first. You might want to pull up some old posts on taking bp so you know if you're numbers are accurate, and which ones to record.

Bethsheba

All the lifestyle changes in the world will not help your BP in the long term if you are a "hyper-reactor," e.g. your BP spikes due to stress. Not everyone is, but you need to find out how reactive you are. There are MANY posts from people on this site who did the diet and exercise route, but still suffer HORRIBLY from cuff anxiety.

By all means work on your diet and exercise if that is an issue, but do not underestimate the impact of stress. Whoever came up with the saying "stress kills" undoubtedly had blood pressure in mind.

Despite what medical studies may tout, it logically follows that if stress is causing your BP to rise, then getting stress under control will lower your BP, assuming you are watching your diet and weight, etc. as well.

acp