Just diagnosed with HPB

[goldenboys]

Hi everyone....just joined this Healthboard and sure glad they exist. Anyway until 3 weeks ago my BP has always ranged between 112/68 to 122/72. I am athletic and run 4 times a week averaging 3 miles a run. One morning while sitting at the computer I got light headed, sick in my stomach and just felt terrible so my doctor who saw me that day. When he took my BP it was 170/92 with a pulse of 110. He gave me an EKG which was fine, ordered blood work and put me on Atenolol 50 mg. A week later on my return visit my BP was 136/80 and blood work was fine except my LDL (direct) was 169. A year ago it was 67. Put me on Zocor (which I strongly objected to because I hate taking pills) PLUS Plendil 5 mg. He also put me on valuim to take to calm me down. I bought a BP monitor and now my BP is averaging 142/68 to 178/92. I had a kidney scan done and go back in 2 weeks to get the results. I hate the Atenolol as it makes me very hot then very cold. I feel so stressed out as I've always eaten healthy and taken care of myself although my genes are horrible and both my parents died from heart disease although I personally feel smoking killed them. Sorry this is so long but I just can't believe that all of a sudden I am on these meds and I'm so paranoid about running again. I'm becoming totally obsessed. Anyway thanks for listening.

[zuzu8]

Goldenboys,

Welcome to the boards!

First of all, we gotta get you calmed down a bit here. ( and yes, take the valium..it'll help until you know what's what).

Second on all, in my opinion, your doctor was a bit precipitous prescribing atenolol after only one visit and one monitoring of your BP. True hypertension should only be diagnosed based on quite a few separate readings over some time.

A one-time reading of 170/92, although elevated, is not going to kill you, given that your BP was normal only 3 weeks ago. When resting BP is elevated and sustained over time, that's when these #s should be taken seriously.

There's a phenomenon called "white coat hypertension" where your BP spikes high in a doctor's office, and then becomes normal again away from a clinical setting.

Given that you weren't feeling well and probably anxious about it, I wouldn't be surprised if your BP was up that day.

What kind of monitor did you buy? Some of your home readings are up...are you an anxious wreck when you are taking your own BP? Also it's important to take it properly or readings can get really screwy.
A good protocol is to be seated quietly for a couple of minutes at least, before you take it. Back supported. Feet flat on floor ( legs uncrossed) and no talking.
Then take a total of 3 separate readings, with an interval of 2-3 minutes in between each. Throw out the first reading and average the last 2.

Presumably, the doctor did a kidney scan to rule out a secondary cause of hypertension, although how he can be sure you really are hypertensive based on one office visit, I just don't get.

I'm not a doctor, but I am as I said, surprised he put you on a BP med immediately.

Did he discuss at length lifestyle? Diet (is yours REALLY healthy?), your exercise regimen (yours sounds really good though), smoking, weight, sodium intake?

About the cholesterol issue, I know little but others on this board do and I'm sure you'll get some great input.

In addition, I still don't understand why doctors LEAP to prescribing atenolol ( a beta blocker) as a first drug of choice when in my opinion, there are better choices out there for simple (essential) hypertension. Beta blockers IMHO should best be reserved for people who have high blood pressure with angina or cardiac disease.

Your a runner... don't be surprised if your exercise tolerance decreases on this drug. If it turns out that you really need hypertension meds, we can talk about alternatives.

zuzu xx

PS You mentioned that 3 weeks ago your BP was normal...where was it taken?

[mgraylorn]

I think if a patient comes in all anxious, they have a tendency to prescribe a beta blocker since it has a mild anti-anxiety component. Still, without some underlying cause like you mentioned, that is a lousy reason to prescribe a drug as troublesome as a beta blocker. Especially if the anxiety is temporary, given how hard it is to get off a beta blocker.

[CASSIEBEL]

I read somewhere that doctors are going with the beta blockers and diuretics as the first choice for newly diagnosed hypertension. The reason being, these drugs offer results as good as the newer drugs, for less money.

Nobody seems to care about the side effects they cause or the decline in quality of life. I wish doctors would tell patients about ALL BP meds. What each class does, what side effects they have, and how much they cost so the patient can decide. At least have literature with this information available in their offices.

It seems to me so many people, maybe most, people have to suffer through all these trials and errors to find the right med. No wonder most of us end up afraid of all medicine and ready for the psychiatric ward whenever we see a BP cuff!!!

Cass

[goldenboys]

Thanks Zuzu8 for calming me down (a little). I bought an Ormon arm cuff style unit and yes I sit straight, legs flat and even on valium my BP has been high. During my 2nd visit he asked if I was having chest pain and since I am always pulling muscles here & there I said on my left upper side below my shoulder it felt like a pulled muscle but at the time I didn't remember pulling anything. That's when he put me on Plendil and gave me a 2nd EKG which he said was ok. Yes we had a long talk about my lifestyle and he said that if I walked in there 50 lbs overweight, a couch potato and a smoker he would suggest lifestyle changes but since I am none of that the only way to go is medicine. He also said yes 5% is secondary and 95% is other and to keep in mind that my genes are not very good. I cut my atenolol to 25 and today half of that & plan on telling him in 2 weeks that I am not going to take it anymore. I don't seem to have any side affects from the Plendil. I took my BP at Kmart on that machine which showed 120/69 before this happened. I use to drink wine with my evening meal and now I'm so afraid to have a glass for fear of stroking out. I feel like I'm turing into a hypochondriac over this. Thanks everybody for listening and for the kind advice.