So is diastolic more about stress then? like actual stress, and not physical ( exercise) I don't understand why that goes up for me during anxiety/stress and not my systolic as much. People with white coat usually say that their systolic rises, but diastolic stays the same, yet it's almost the opposite for me, or they both rise.
Last edited by mod-anon; 03-22-2009 at 11:27 PM.
Reason: starting a new thread with this post.
the same thing happens for me but yet my doctor SWEARS that anxiety will not reaise my blood pressure....although i know differently....i know whenever i pass by somewhere that has a blood pressure machine i get anxious about going in and checking it....i just cannot check it....the last time i was so nervous my hear was pounding and i was getting sweaty, having a panic attack and i checked it my blood pressure was 144/85 and before it was 138/75 and my pulse rate was like 140 then i calmed myself down and it went down a bit but i just cannot even go to ceck my own blood pressure and know if it is an accurate reading or not.
In a "moment" spike, my systolic will spike. Like, I'll run up the stairs and take my BP, and it will be 135/82 or something. In fact, I had a nice little spike the other day of 150/81. I thought I was having an allergic reaction and I was quite frightened.
At times in my life when I'm in a constant state of anxiety, I find I have issues with my diastolic though, and will often get numbers like 125/90, or higher. My diastolic seems to get higher than my systolic at those times. Like I've reached 140/100 often when I'm having constant anxiety issues.
Also, drinking causes my diastolic to creep up.
I think doctors talk in terms of "generally", but we are unique individuals. We know how we work. I wouldn't doubt that constant anxiety causes your diastolic to stay at a raised rate.
I am a lot like you and my diastolic likes to stay high. it bothers me and my cardio and PCP both act like it's nothing to worry about but yet I read and it says it's something to be very aware of and monitor more so than the systolic.
High diastolic BP, generally means you aren't working out, or you have a medical condition (kidney, heart, etc issues), or had a very bad diet for a long time.
I think Stress/Anxiety/Caffine-Stimulants are what causes short time high Sytolisc BP
Well i been exercising for over 15 years now, seen a cardio, nephrologist, had ekg's done, echos, , sonograms, you name it. Everything came out fine. Cardiologist said i'm going to live a long life with the heart i have. I eat a clean diet and only have a cheat meal once a week. Like i said the onyl time my BP rises is when i'm anxious or after drinking. Which i thought was a normal thing to happen?
My diastolic remains pretty solid at around 77-83. My systolic is subject to much more fluctuation, though. It's averaging at around 130 on my home monitor, but it can range from 115 to 150.
Generally, when I take it after a cardio workout, after cooling down (maybe 30 minutes later), I get a reading in the 117/78 range. That's also when I feel great--nice and relaxed, pumped full of those good-feeling exercise endorphins and not a care in the world.
If I take a reading right when I get home from work, after fighting traffic to get home and stressed/anxious from my work day, it'll often be in the 140s/80.
In my case, my fluctuating systolic seems directly linked to my mood. I am, however, taking my doctor's advice and packing up the BP monitor. He thinks I'm doing more harm than good by obsessively monitoring. I tend to agree with that in my situation. Some others here have some truly inspring stories of how close monitoring of BP and major lifestyle changes led to incredible results.
the same thing happens for me but yet my doctor SWEARS that anxiety will not reaise my blood pressure....although i know differently....i know whenever i pass by somewhere that has a blood pressure machine i get anxious about going in and checking it....i just cannot check it....the last time i was so nervous my hear was pounding and i was getting sweaty, having a panic attack and i checked it my blood pressure was 144/85 and before it was 138/75 and my pulse rate was like 140 then i calmed myself down and it went down a bit but i just cannot even go to ceck my own blood pressure and know if it is an accurate reading or not.
Your doctor is simply wrong, period. I have watched anxiety raise my BP by over 40 points in a matter of minutes. Anxiety driven BP is real. Its a FACT. Any doctor who denies that should be sent back to medical school.
This is an interesting thread, and I can relate. I have watched my systolic swing wildly with my anxiety where my diastolic remained comfortably below 80. It is clear to me there are some people who simply have this anxiety driven BP no matter how well we take care of ourselves (and I'm definitely one of those).
I am erring on the side of believing that enough spikes over enough time can do damage, but it seems to me the solution is treating the anxiety rather then medicating the BP, since one may assume the BP is normal or below normal during non-anxiety periods, and this further assume BP meds will mess that up somehow.
All those cliches about learning to relax, avoiding stress, dealing with anger-management issues, etc. appear to be very very real and pertinent for those of us who suffer from this!
I am erring on the side of believing that enough spikes over enough time can do damage
Don't forget, though, that our bodies are designed to have BP spikes in response to stresses. It's the "fight or flight" instinct. As I understand, the BP will spike in response to a stressful situation, say, as an extreme example, a burglar breaking into your house at night (or, in caveman times, a saber-tooth tiger running you down). That BP spike allows you to respond physically in the most effective manner.
Now, of course it's not good to get BP spikes all the time (and at some point, a routine spike probably ceases to be a "spike" and is just simply high BP) but I think it is helpful to remember that a spike is a natural response of the body.
I just don't understand why then some of us during the same situaion would spike to say about 135/82, yet someone like me with anxiety issues will spike to like 145/99 in the same type of stress, fight or flight situation.
What meds would block that from happening? I still get high with my beta blockers if i'm stressed anxious enough. Would a benzo be the best thing ? or is there some type of anti-cortisol medication that just stops the effect alltogether without numbing you out?
is it just that? cause some of us just have more anxiety and our body doesn't deal with it as good as others? therefore they can keep calmer in those situations while the ones like me can't and our body can't deal with the stress?
In other words i would be eaten by a sabretooth tiger
Lourage, I don't think there are med's that will stop anxiety-induced blood pressure spikes. I think tamuprof hit it on the head (again) when he said "it seems to me the solution is treating the anxiety rather then medicating the BP".
Controlling my anxiety level is key to controlling my blood pressure. It's been a total pain in my butt, but ultimately I'm sort of thankful for having white coat. It's incited me to change how I live my life, and to treat my body and my mind better. Hopefully I will live much longer as an outcome.
Also, I think there are probably tons of "hyper-responders" - they just don't know it because they do not obsessively check their blood pressure
Meds will help but there is a point where the flight or fight will kick in no matter. It's called survival. For example, I'm on 900mg of an alpha/beta blocker & yet my b/p flew up to 258/110 in October.
You have to keep experimenting with various techniques to keep the spikes at a minimum. Fam
"anti-anxiety meds creates a zombie-state" & IMO if I can recall correctly, anti-anxiety meds aren't meant for a long term treatment unless there is some serious psychological problems.
Exercising helps a lot with anxiety. Even walking just 30 mins a day does wonders. I know everyone has been saying to excercise and such, but its so true and works too. Try it.
Learn different ways to combat the anxiety thats causing your BP to soar.
I just have no way of knowing what the hell is even going on when i get those hot flashes feelings. I say it's my BP spiking, other people tell me it's not, people say it's harmless on the anxiety board, but it just feels like pure stress, thats the only way to describe it, like hot stress just flowing through my body, and as fast as it comes it's gone.
When i gte out of the shower my ears are beat red and hot to the touch, yet i check my BP and it's fine?!?! but other times when they are red it's high. It seems to agitate me more, like i have the fan blasting and windows open to cool me off. Then i was making a meal and my dog was annoying me and i got the feeling again! or i'll get it when i drop something. But i took my Bp and it was fine. BUT i have no way of checking spur of the moment when the flashes happen without the use of a holter monitor i guess. My question is why would i be getting the fight or flight feeling at such stupid damn times? Seems like whenever i think about them happening they do!
I'm stressed a s hell right now and for no reason! i just finished working out and i should feel great.
Answer me this though, how come the flashes barely ever happened when i was on a anti-depressant for anxiety a few weeks ago? then when i got off they started up again ten-fold? jeeze i gotta get on this zoloft and fast lol next tuesday can't come any faster.
LOL just as i was reading this board and checking my bp feeling all stressed out, as soon as the cuff got tight a commercial came on for channel 7 news and it showed people getting their BP taken LOL the tagline was " could seeing your doctor be putting your health at risk? find out how doctors visits can affect your health by raising your blood pressure" GREAT! can't get away from it !
By the way feeling all stressed and my bp was 105/65 . I really need a doctor to fix my brain.
Just remind me not to watch the news special about it lol.
I felt like GARBAGE today after taking my meds. before even taken them i took my BP and it was at 98/59 !!! No wonder i felt bad! who knows what it dropped too after taking my meds. See this is why i should be taking the propranolol "AS NEEDED" just for anxiety purposes.
it's this anxiety med buspar though, i don't know if it's reacting with my propranolol and omega 3 or what. I felt fine before i started taking the buspar. I'm getting off it this Week though. I feel soo tired and dizzy and get hot flashes right after taking it.
I'm also starting to wonder if taking my meds ten hours apart is too soon? I think it's fine though, usually 10-12 hours docs always say.
