DH heart / blood pressure - how bad is this?

[Imafirestartertwisterfirestarterheyheyhey]

DH went for a routine blood pressure test yesterday and was immediately told to go at a&e as his blood pressure was 220/108 and he was at immediate risk of hypertension.

i have young DC so he told me to stay here and so I haven’t seen him since he went it but we’ve obviously been talking but he was due to come home yesterday but I fell asleep and I’ve just woken up and he’s in overnight on a drip to get his blood pressure down before they release him. He’s had an ECG which is fine.

I have nobody irl to help out so I’m going to drop DC early and get to the hospital but I’m in shock he’s late 40s, exercises regularly, good diet and not overweight. They’ve said it’s probably hereditary and he’s now going to be on medication for the rest of his life.

has anyone else been through anything like this? I feel totally blindsided (as does he).

My FIL was diagnosed with very high blood pressure. He was older than your DH (late 50s) but also fit and healthy with no symptoms. He's been taking medication and is doing fine. It's a shock but so much better to know as then it can be treated.

That must be so worrying for you!

That is high - the lower number in particular, but he’s in the right place to get it looked at and great that they caught it on a routine check rather than because he was feeling ill.

A lot of people are on drugs to keep blood pressure down, so it shouldn’t make a big difference to his (and your) life once it’s under control. It can take trying a few different medicines and combinations of medicines to get it right though, so don’t be surprised if the doctors swap things around for a few months until they work out what’s best for him.

A lot of people don’t find out until it’s made them seriously ill, so it is definitely good that he can get it under control from a routine check.

Is he otherwise a healthy person? Sensible weight? Good diet? Exercise?

Remember to look after yourself too though.

Sorry just seen that all the lifestyle questions are answered in your first post! So they shouldn’t be suggesting too many changes that will impact family lifestyle if he’s already doing the right things on that line

Yes, he’s healthy and exercises regularly and not overweight which is why it’s come as such a shock. I feel awful now as well because I thought he’d be coming home last night and I woke to find out he’s now been admitted.

Hey

I had this with very similar readings.

Went to the dr for something unrelated and she took my blood pressure, looked at me a bit funny, chatted for a few minutes, took it again.

Then asked if I felt ok. Did I have a headache etc to which I responded I was fine.

She then told me what the reading was and wouldn’t even let me drive home and had me sent straight to A and E.

It came down with meds and I went home after an overnight, and have been on medication ever since.

i lead a completely normal life but BP still tends to cause raised eyebrows if I ever see a new Dr.

Fingers crossed his is similar

If they immediately started him on some treatment then they’ll have admitted him to keep an eye on how it’s working. No doubt it will work fine, but best they keep an eye on him to get the dose right and to make sure he’s comfortable with it all.

If they were keeping him in for any reason more drastic then they would let you know.

If they keep him in tomorrow hopefully you’ll be able to visit, get some reassurance and ask all the questions you need to of the medical team.

@Herbiebanannas thank you this is really reassuring. Did you have to make any other changes to your lifestyle? He’s a keen cyclist and has been in training for a long cycle ride but has been told he can’t do that and he’s told me he’s going to give up alcohol and caffeine (both positive but he only drinks tea and doesn’t drink very much!).

I know two people with similar readings (although both are rather overweight). It's well controlled with medication in both cases.

Nurse here. Yes that BP reading is way too high. A normal reading is 120/80, so both numbers are much too high. It’s a massive relief that this has been found before anything horrible happened. They call high blood pressure the silent killer for a reason.

High blood pressure is easily treated with medication. There are an excellent range of options available and the doctors will ensure the right tablet is prescribed. Buy a decent blood pressure machine, so he can monitor his BP at home.

It’s perfectly understandable that you’re worrying but they will get his BP down quickly and discharge him to the care of his GP. Just be very glad that this has been caught and is easily treated. Taking daily medication will sort this out and your DH will live a normal life.

I cut down on alcohol but made no other changes. I rode a mountain Bike and walk a lot, but it’s just for fun I have never trained for an event so can’t comment on that.

The medics will advise. It’s cheap to pick up a BP monitor for home to keep an eye on things and it’s good that it’s been picked up. They should be able to manage it with meds but might take a bit of trial and error.

The only side effect I ever had from the meds was an annoying tickle cough when I was on Ramipril. They switched me to Adizem and it’s all fine. Taking it is just part of daily routine and has been for four years.

I am 48 now and make. Good health, just an insomniac 😂

Try not to worry.

Thank you. I’m so relieved he went in for the routine blood test. Honestly it makes my blood run cold to think about what could have happened if he hadn’t.

Thank you @Manyandyoucanwalkover everything you say is right. I was admitted to A&E with 270/170, which is a ridiculous blood pressure 10 years ago aged 45 (no headache, no nothing). A difficult and confusing night for me as I felt fine. Having gone through tons of tests since, I have got "unexplained high blood pressure" sometimes it is really high, sometimes really low - you will have to let medical people do the due diligence that it is not caused by other things. I am on loads of tablets now (not great but I suspect they keep me alive !) I do think genetics come into it, all 4 grandparents dead before 60 of BP related issues. Yes, slightly overweight, yes loved my salt (this batters up BP) but otherwise completely unexpected. He is in the right place, and as @Manyandyoucanwalkover this is controllable, it is better that it is found. It's a shock but he will be home soon, and although it isn't nice, you have a way forward xxx

Actually, thank you, that has reminded me of the drugs, if they put you OH on ones that don't suit, do speak out as there are others out there. Amlodipine (legs swelling) Ramopril (the cough) Bendroflumiziade (not sure, think they give you them to combat the water retention) now on Doxasozin, Losartan, Bisporol, and Indapamide and seem to work but it is a bit of trial and error....xx

Reframe this as him being very lucky to have had it diagnosed and treated before having a cardiovascular event that could be catastrophic in nature. Thankfully it's treatable and if you find a medication that suits him , it shouldn't be an issue .

Thank you all. Just heard from him and they didn’t do the drip after all but gave him oral medication, his blood pressure was down but now back up to 220 so they’re keeping him there and he is seeing cardiologist at some point.

hope it works out for DH and yourself.
out of interest does he put salt on food ?
does he have a stressful job or life circumstances ?

I had a similar experience at 39, gp sent me straight to hospital, had scans and blood tests etc ended up being hypertension ans on medication. I managed to get off the medication as it was stress related and I upped my exercise. But can be hereditary, easily managed with medication.

Hi OP, if it helps my granny had this diagnosed in her 50s. She took medication for it to keep it down and died last year at the ripe old age of 98! Never had any heart problems and basically died of old age, went to sleep in the chair and didn't wake up one day. She lived a full and active life (and still drank strong espressos everyday which I never thought to tell her not to!) and re-roofed her own house at 80.

Sending good vibes, take care x

I had a nose bleed at work one day in my thirties and it just so happened a nurse was around and told me to get my blood pressure checked. I wasnt too bothered, but I did go to my local pharmacy who told me to go straight to my GP surgery. (Cant remember what it was but BP reading was very high)
Was put on medication that day and have been on medication ever since.
They may do other tests to see if it is an underlying symptom of something else, but ruling that out, he could just be on medication for the foreseeable future.
NB: There are different types of BP medication and from my own experience, some are better then others.

@Pinkballoon3 wow your Nan sounds amazing. Reroofing at 80!

Hope he’s ok OP.

It may take a while to find the right medication. I tried about 5 before I found one that suited - no side effects at all on my current one.
Like your OH I was at the GP for a sinus infection when my high BP was diagnosed. I was early 50s, very fit - I run, weight-train several times a week - normal BMI, cook from scratch without added salt, don't smoke, drink occasionally etc. The GP said there were no lifestyle changes I could make it was just genetic.
BP is controlled now. Exercise definitely helps - I have a machine at home and my BP is always MUCH lower if I test after I've been for a run. Your OH should definitely continue with his cycling

Thanks all, this is all really reassuring.

Just back from visiting him. In the doctor’s words they’re currently treating him as if he’s had a heart attack although they’re pretty sure that’s not what happened. So huge dose of aspirin last night and now he’s been having some other tablets (I don’t know which) and he has to have an injection as the second part of the heart treatment. He looked really scared and hasn’t slept as ward was really loud. What he hadn’t told me was at the doctors their exact words were ‘you need to get to A&E now because you’re like a walking corpse.’ He’s the most stoic person you could ever meet so it’s horrible seeing him like this.

Next step is to see the cardiologist but no idea if that will be today as apparently huge back log.

Sounds like they are taking super good care off him. Just make sure he has a bp monitor for when he gets home, sure they will ask him to track it for a few days, hope he's out soon x

Sounds like they want to keep him in for a couple of days - he's waiting on an Angiogram.

I hope they get your DH sorted soon.

Recently I went to have my smear done, as I hadn't been in for a number of years the nurse did my blood pressure that came out in the critical level, 185 / 109

I went to see the GP straight away, they asked why I had gone to see the nurse, when I had the BP done, before or after the smear ( before).

What I had to do was take my blood pressure for at least a week morning and night, I bought a machine with a cuff that goes on the top of your left arm,( they give a much better reading ).

I went back to see the GP about 10 days later, they worked out the average and were happy as long as the number didn't go over 140/90 it didn't.

I know that the reading should be 120/80, I started doing some research and as you age your blood pressure does as well. For my age group anything between 119 - 140 / 70 -90 is okay.

I still do my blood pressure checks and keep a note of it as high b p runs in the family.