Mum been taken to A&E with BP 194/121 ... what’s likely to happen?

[thunderbirdsaregone]

Family history of hypertension and heart disease , all relatives have had angina or vascular dementia ...

Mum’s BP has been up and down for some time and she gets a bit ‘white coat’ ish, huge hx of mental illness and psychosomatic stuff as well as some cognitive issues and memory problems ... she’s 53.

She had a functional/non epileptic seizure tonight following an ongoing headache and NHS 24 called an ambulance , they’re taking her to A&E for assessment regarding BP and whether she needs medication etc . Suspect she’ll stay the night unfortunately .

I’m 170 miles away and couldn’t get back til tomorrow , and don’t really have the money to travel up anyway . Should I be making plans to get up there ? I’ve told relatives up there (her brother and cousin live within twenty mins drive , her mum same distance, sister lives not far either).

She sounded fine on the phone just distressed , but google says all sorts about renal damage/dialysis and ITU and stuff? Bit worried !!

Hi thunder sorry your mum is not well
I would expect her to have blood tests (kidney tests important), ECG, urine dip and someone will have a look at the back of her eyes. These tests are to look for signs of high blood pressure causing damage to kidneys/heart/eyes. Depending on what they find they might start medication in hospital. They will also test for diabetes and cholesterol check. They might do a scan too given the headaches and memory problems.
I really wouldn’t expect her to need dialysis or ITU unless some unexpected findings
I hope you get some good news soon, it’s hard when you are far away

Also possibly some other tests for more unusual causes of high blood pressure which might involve more urine/blood tests

Thank you .. she had an FBC , U/E etc taken about a fortnight ago all totally normal, and has just finished with a 24 hr BP too. Typically she has some HTN following a seizure but it reduces over time after . It would seem the headaches are linked but don’t know.

Memory loss has been for two years and is mainly short term, longer is fine, they were reckoning depression or possible mild damage to brain following ECT in the 80s . Also possibly related to the lyrica she was on for a long time.... So it isn’t new so to speak.

Spoke to A&E anyway who said to ring them back at 11-11.30. I’m hoping they don’t just chuck her out, she’s quite vulnerable and would struggle to make her way home unless they can organise her a taxi I guess. I don’t think relativ3s would pick her up tonight.

I just wish I was able to go and check myself. I can get there but not til tomorrow and realistically I can’t afford it.

I would think she'd be kept in for a few days. They won't just chuck her out. High blood pressure can cause persistent headaches. Hopefully she will be fine now they have spotted it.

I suspect they will start blood pressure medication , keep her in overnight and then organise investigations as an outpatient.

I had a BP of 210/140

I was attending my smear with the nurse and she checked it. Ended up on coronary care with drips, oxygen and monitors on.
Had all my bloods done, eyes checked and kidneys scanned.

Sent home with bp and cholesterol meds, I was 42.
Now 50 and after a few meds adjustments my levels are good.

I was diagnosed with familial hyper cholesterolaemia and malignant hypertension. Strong family history of both.

Big hugs