Can someone explain blood pressure readings to me like I am new on Earth please?

[SpinMeRightRoundBaybee]

I have been on Elvanse ADHD medication for a few months and have bought a BP machine so I can do my readings at home rather than having to go to a pharmacist (readings required for prescription authorisation)

I obviously have ADHD and things like this just go in one ear and out the other (I actually feel like I may have a mild learning disability as I genuinely find itnso hard to understand and retain some types of information) Despite reading things online I really am struggling to understand what I am looking at, what is normal and what I should be looking out for.

Also my heart rate.

Would really appreciate any simplistic explanations.

These are my readings so far (am alsobwondering if the higher heart rate this morning is due to me monitoring in the AM around an hour after taking my ADHD meds) wheras the other readings have been at night when its probably worn off?

Should I monitor morning and evening?

Thanks for reading!

Generally your first number should be under 120 and your second number under 80 (and above 60) so your readings are great.

Your heart rate is also fine.

Most GPs , if monitoring, ask for an AM and PM reading at about the same time every day. They then take an average.

They wouldn't be concerned at all by your readings.

As above, those are fine. How many do they need you to do for your prescription to be authorised? As yours seem absolutely fine I would not do any more than the minimum.

This readings are spot on.

Your heart is pottering on just lovely, your meds are not affecting it badly at all.

Take it off your “ should I be worried about this?” List because it’s practically perfect in every way!

Echoing everything above, but one additional thing:

the NHS website has a BP checker where you can input your reading and it tells you if that reading is, high, low, healthy or borderline high. So if you forget what the normal ranges are, it’s a quick check for you.

https://www.nhs.uk/health-assessment-tools/check-your-blood-pressure-reading

I wish dh had readings like that. Honestly they look good to me with no concerns. (It is good to monitor your bp every so often e.g. after medication change and advice to dh was to take twice daily readings morning and evening for a week and then average to get a representative picture of what is going on as bp does tend to fluctuate a lot.)

Well I just need to give her a reading that was made a few days before my medication review phone call so I guess I don't really need to monitor to this extent.

But I also have OCD and some health anxiety issues and recently read that ADHD meds pose a risk to heart health and that freaked me out quite a lot. In the last few weeks I have moved up to 50mg and my anxiety has skyrocked along with having a few palpitations but I cannot actually say for sure that is a result of the dose increase because at the same as the increase i have had 3 separate incidents of things that have caused me a lot of stress and they are all ongoing so it may be because of those.
My phone call is Monday so I will presnt this to the nurse but because of all that I just wanted to have a more comprehensive record of my BP/HR.

Thankyou, that is reassuring.

Thankyou to all replies!

That is really helpful! Have bookmarked. Many thanks.

Edit : points removed for your username 🤣

Just try to remember below 120/80 is ideal. My heart rate also varies by about 15 bpm so you’re all good

I suffer from hypertension and my GP is happy as long as mine isn't above 130/90, so yours looks really good to me. Mine's been over 100 in the lower reading in the past, though it's under control at the moment 😞I am still here to tell the tale, so try not to worry - the important thing is to monitor it and seek medical advice if it's trending away from the ideal range, and that's what you are already doing.

Blimey! Can I have yours, please?!

Your readings are perfectly fine. Any HCP would be well pleased with these.

Stimulant medication, such as Elvanse, causes blood pressure to increase by a small amount, in a small amount of people. Your readings are all fine and within a narrow range and some variation throughout the day depending on your activities and circadian rhythm would be expected.

Your prescriber will have looked at your medical history and especially your carefully before prescribing your medication, to make sure it is safe for you.