High blood pressure

[TheBALDpuma]

I'm not normally one to post health issues and seeing as this isn't to grim an personal I thought I'd throw it out there to any docs/medics in here...

Was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, bit of a headache over my eye and had a random nosebleed while out walking the dog. Also got a bit of a sore throat at present. Not sure if any of these are related. I went to the gym, and had to stop training as my headache got so intense. With a few of the sypmptoms I thoght I'd take my blood pressure and well, it's been rather high. Over the last 24 hours I've probably taken 20-25 readings, and the average is probably around 180/80! So diastolic isn't too bad, but systolic seems crazy high.

A bit of background about me. I train regularly, eat very well, have an active lifestyle. I'm athletically built with fairly low body fat, i.e. I'm not a chubster. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't take drugs except caffeine for training, usually around 300mg 4/5 times a week. Other than that I don't really drink coffee etc.

So I've stopped taking caffeine, but short term that hasn't helped.

Is it worth going to see my doctor? I'm very much against taking drugs like beta blockers and aside from this I don't see how I can alter my lifestyle to reduce it. Could it be due to me being a but under the weather maybe? Is there anything else I can do to reduce it? Any aother thoughts/advice welcome.

[jagracer]

First thing is how old are you and second go and see your doctor. Unless you are over 50ish and considering you say you are fit and not over weight the 180 is high.

[TheBALDpuma]

I'm 25. Yeah, need to get booked in I suppose! Rung up today but can't get seen till Friday earliest.

[sawman]

You should get the blood pressure checked, however the eye pain and nosebleed could be something like sinusitis.
Have you been checking the pressure at home on your own machine - if so try doing it at different times of the day and do 3 readings over a couple of minutes, and average these out. Take your findings along to the GP

[TheBALDpuma]

sawman said:

You should get the blood pressure checked, however the eye pain and nosebleed could be something like sinusitis.
Have you been checking the pressure at home on your own machine - if so try doing it at different times of the day and do 3 readings over a couple of minutes, and average these out. Take your findings along to the GP

Been checking at work, but have been doing it throughout the day so it the figure above is an average over a whole day.

[sawman]

TheBALDpuma said:

Been checking at work, but have been doing it throughout the day so it the figure above is an average over a whole day.

look at the readings taken through the day, it can sometimes reveal a pattern. I have read that its not unusual for blood pressure to be lowest whilst at work and higher at home, If you take all your findings along to the GP it will potentially shorten down the investigation by the GP, as one of the first things they often get you to do is exactly this.

Blood pressure can vary quite a bit during the day - the top figure can move quite a bit, whilst the lower is more stable, unless there is a significant issue with you. Make sure you drink plenty of water to keep hydrated

[andy118run]

TheBALDpuma said:

Over the last 24 hours I've probably taken 20-25 readings, and the average is probably around 180/80! So diastolic isn't too bad, but systolic seems crazy high.

Though not an expert, I'm a nurse who monitors patients' BPs on a daily basis.

An appointment with your GP is not a bad shout though a visit to your local NHS walk-in to discuss your concerns and have it assessed independently would be quick and might put your mind at rest sooner.

In the meantime, don't go crazy - it's pointless doing your BP 20-25 times in 24 hours and probably only serves to stress you and increase your BP further.

The 180 is high but nothing remarkable - if you are worried, do it 3 or 4 times a day max just to keep an eye on it but if it was me, I really wouldn't bother.

[TheBALDpuma]

andy118run said:

Though not an expert, I'm a nurse who monitors patients' BPs on a daily basis.

An appointment with your GP is not a bad shout though a visit to your local NHS walk-in to discuss your concerns and have it assessed independently would be quick and might put your mind at rest sooner.

In the meantime, don't go crazy - it's pointless doing your BP 20-25 times in 24 hours and probably only serves to stress you and increase your BP further.

The 180 is high but nothing remarkable - if you are worried, do it 3 or 4 times a day max just to keep an eye on it but if it was me, I really wouldn't bother.

Reassuring, thanks. Although 180 is very high, is it not?

Conviniently my first client in the morning tomorrow is a cardiologist, so I'll see what she has to say.

If she hasn't got any advice (I'm not sure it's totally her area) I'll probably drop into my GP. Although, if as you say it's nothing remarkable, it's still not where it should be so would be good to get checked out - I do tend to worry about things.

[andy118run]

TheBALDpuma said:

Reassuring, thanks. Although 180 is very high, is it not?

Conviniently my first client in the morning tomorrow is a cardiologist, so I'll see what she has to say.

If she hasn't got any advice (I'm not sure it's totally her area) I'll probably drop into my GP. Although, if as you say it's nothing remarkable, it's still not where it should be so would be good to get checked out - I do tend to worry about things.

Anything over 140 is 'high' I believe, I don't know at what point it becomes 'very high' but I've certainly seen a few well over 200 so 180 would not be of great alarm. A cardiologist is certainly a handy person to ask though.

[stephenry]

TheBALDpuma said:

I'm not normally one to post health issues and seeing as this isn't to grim an personal I thought I'd throw it out there to any docs/medics in here...

Was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, bit of a headache over my eye and had a random nosebleed while out walking the dog. Also got a bit of a sore throat at present. Not sure if any of these are related. I went to the gym, and had to stop training as my headache got so intense. With a few of the sypmptoms I thoght I'd take my blood pressure and well, it's been rather high. Over the last 24 hours I've probably taken 20-25 readings, and the average is probably around 180/80! So diastolic isn't too bad, but systolic seems crazy high.

A bit of background about me. I train regularly, eat very well, have an active lifestyle. I'm athletically built with fairly low body fat, i.e. I'm not a chubster. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't take drugs except caffeine for training, usually around 300mg 4/5 times a week. Other than that I don't really drink coffee etc.

So I've stopped taking caffeine, but short term that hasn't helped.

Is it worth going to see my doctor? I'm very much against taking drugs like beta blockers and aside from this I don't see how I can alter my lifestyle to reduce it. Could it be due to me being a but under the weather maybe? Is there anything else I can do to reduce it? Any aother thoughts/advice welcome.

Caffeine raises blood pressure. Also watch your sodium. How these will affect your BP over the short-term, I don't know. High BP will not cause a headache.

Another thing to consider is that blood pressure monitors are not entirely accurate. Their reading will vary a lot depending on the relative position of your arm, the size of the cuff. If you are very muscular, you will have a higher reading if the cuff is too small for your arm, etc. Failing that, I would suggest that you have been over-training; working out too much, too little rest. High cortisol associated with over-training will increase BP, along with susceptibility to infection etc... Insomnia too. Take a couple of days off training.

[WinstonWolf]

Which way does being muscular affect the pressure?

[TheBALDpuma]

Appreciate everyone's comments.

I spoke to my cardiologist client this morning and she said that although not alarming I do need to get checked out properly and may need to do a 24 hr BP thing amongst other tests. Currently sitting in the waiting room of my gp.

[andy118run]

WinstonWolf said:

Which way does being muscular affect the pressure?

I think he was saying that cuffs come in various sizes and you need one that fits your arm. If Baldpuma is quite muscular then an inappropriately small cuff may give a dodgy reading.

Any news BALDpuma?

[TheBALDpuma]

Well I got a reading of 150/90 and 170/90 at the docs. I think the standard cuff was a little small which was why I was getting 190s before, but the readings are obviously still above normal. Had a look in my eyes and all is fine. Got to have some blood tests and wear a 24 hour BP tester. I don't think I need to be too concerned, I just want to check that nothing abnormal is going on and control the BP in the long run if needed.

[markbe]

TheBALDpuma said:

Well I got a reading of 150/90 and 170/90 at the docs. I think the standard cuff was a little small which was why I was getting 190s before, but the readings are obviously still above normal. Had a look in my eyes and all is fine. Got to have some blood tests and wear a 24 hour BP tester. I don't think I need to be too concerned, I just want to check that nothing abnormal is going on and control the BP in the long run if needed.

Hi Chris, with your background in training and fitness no drink or other stuff, unless this can be hereditary, you definitely need to sort it, high Bp and headaches when training are not good.
Find out who is one of the best heart men in your area and get your doctor to refer you to him, they have to under the current system.
24 hour BP test results will be of use him, it is important how it is fitted so be sure it is reading correctly, get copies of every test you have done, including a full blood test,these will be invaluable in the future.
BP as you probably know varies from person to person, rest for 10 minutes before taking your BP, sit, rest the arm you are testing on a table so the cuff is level with your heart, here is the tricky bit, the cuff must be positioned so the sensor picks up your heart beat from the artery straight away, 1" either way will give a false reading.
Look at your diet, salt and caffeine have been mentioned, Cheese and chocolate are also bad for BP.
You will need 3 weeks or more off caffeine for its effects to wear off, probably get withdrawal symptoms to!! Will be worth it as it is likely to be the cause.
Write everything daily, in a diary, this will again be very helpful as time goes on.

Mark.

[TheBALDpuma]

Bit nore info.

Blood tests results showed slightly elevated Urea on my blood, but that's certainly due to my very high protein diet, and is nothing to worry about but the GP wants to send me for a kidney ultrasound to make sure, so that'll be Jan sometime. Everything else was normal.

BP from a day long test average at about 150/72 I think, but get the full results on Monday. Not as high as I'd feared, but still a little high.

Not sure what the next step will be, but I think they may wants to test for adrenaline and other causes.

[mattikake]

Diet. Check it.

How long have you been using caffeine? What is your magnesium intake like? What's your RHR? The effects of caffeine and magnesium can have almost diametric opposite effects on your CV system - heart rhythm and BP.

Go out and buy some pumpkin seeds and scoff about 100g a day for a week. See what happens.

[TheBALDpuma]

My diet is good. Caffeine intake has been high and over a long time but it only has an acute and small at that effect on bp. As soon as caffeine leaves your system there is no prolonged effect on bp and it doesn't directly effect bp, only as a consequence of increased HR. I've stopped using it for now but it is not the cause.

My resting heart rate is low, typically sub 50bpm and if I'm super relaxed can be under 45bpm.

Both my twin bro and father have elevated bp so it's almost certainly high for the sake of it as it's in the family with no cause but it's best to get checked incase.

[APOLO1]

My I ask if you are Hydrating enough on training days....I do 2 or 3 triathlons a year. In April this year I blacked out on weighs session. My BP went to over 210.....All down to not hydrating...

[TheBALDpuma]

Yeah water in take is fine. I'll often have a shaker full of squash while I'm training which I think is 700ml.i also don't work with huge intensity so water loss isn't a huge issue.