Anyone in their 40s/50s plus had a health wake up call?

BP question.....can a stressful job lower BP? I have been diagnosed with high BP but am a good weight, don’t drink or smoke etc but I am a teacher and live off of adrenaline. GP said it’s hereditary and wasn’t convinced it was the job, but I mam so stressed and tired all of the time surely it must be a factor? I would rather try and cut my hours than take BP meds....what do you all think?

I am somewhat overweight and on HRT but my BP is good. However, recently my knees hurt pretty much all the time. It's shocked me a bit - I love walking and I'm horrified at the idea of having to stop.
I need to lose 2 stone but it's bloody hard at 53.

This thread is very timely, thank you OP.
Im 53, and expecting a call from Dr today about the results of my 24 hr BP check I had a couple of weeks ago. Just went to Dr about getting HRT and had a BP check as part of the appt. Turns out its quite high hence the 24 hr BP cuff. I'm expecting to be needing to go on BP medication before they'll let me have the HRT. Both parents have high BP so perhaps hereditary. But I am at least 3 st overweight and not exercising. I need a big kick up the bum right now as its dawning on me that i need to take control, lose weight, get active and safeguard my health.

I'm 49 and a runner too, and the burning sensation has also been happening to me - I have been diagnosed with exercise induced angina though and have also undergone various scans to check for heart disease (echocardiogram, CT scan, chest X ray).

Did you have your arteries checked before you had your heart attack or did they not go down that route?

Am glad you are back to running and feeling better!

I said I had an echo in my original post but I meant ECG - that’s the only heart related investigation the GP did before deciding it was acid reflux. I wish I had pushed for more investigations as I had a few really cracking palpitations but the GP I spoke to was very dismissive of those. Big lesson learned!

Yes - High BP for me - I'm 58. Just after Christmas the doctor recommended I cut down on alcohol, caffeine & salt, eat a healthy diet and take plenty of exercise. It was a wake-up call because although I'm not scared of being dead, I am scared of being ill.

I've made changes - my BP is lower, I'm sleeping better, I've lost a stone so far and am now just into the healthy BMI category. This weekend I'm treating myself to some new clothes in the next size down!

Great to read everyone else's experiences.

I'm 49 and have been diagnosed with stable angina whilst I've also been having scans to check for heart disease.

Completely out the blue - I'm fit (run 4 miles every other day), a non drinker and a non smoker. Cholesterol a bit high at 5.6 I've since discovered.

Am now on daily statins and aspirin and have modified my diet to make it more mediterranean - lots more fish, pulses etc, no meat.

It has been quite scary tbh, but I am fully clued up on heart disease now.

I would also urge anyone who ever has any niggles - pains in their chest, breathlessness, burning throat, fast heart beat, palpitations etc, to please go and see their doctor - you can't take any chances with your heart and heart attacks can be very mild for women, so you might not even know you've had one!

Oh gosh, I'm lucky with my GP then - or you were very unlucky with yours!

I'd only had one episode and he diagnosed me straight away with Angina and referred me to the hospital. I had bloods and the ECG at docs surgery and then all the other scans at the hospital a couple of weeks later (still waiting on results).

@CuriousMama - still in hospital awaiting further tests. Cholesterol is at 6, so it could be that. Have a nasty headache at the back of my head so I'm hoping an MRI will shine a light on what's gone on. I'm suspecting statins, aspirin and a lecture on losing weight (I have 5kg to go). Which is ironic considering the nutritionally poor food they serve in hospitals!

@CuriousMama I know right! But I'll keep going!

@CandyLeBonBon sounds similar to me a few years ago and after ct and mri scans and a couple of days of hospital monitoring, diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines, I've had smaller ones since too.

I have a BMI of over 30, long history of high BP now medicated and recently told I have high cholesterol as well as a blood clotting disorder, you'd think all that as well as turning 50 imminently and being in the midst of a separation and dealing with 2 ND teens, I'd be looking after myself but currently hungover & craving junk food. Shoot me now 😆Lovely to hear that others are as hopeless as me in getting motivated but also reassuring to know some people can do it, each tale is a little bit more encouragement I need.

I hope you’re ok and get it sorted!

Meningitis at 40 brought on hypothyroidism and anaemia and I've since been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Not really much we can do but keep exercising and watching what I eat.

@perfectlypickledpixie I've just been diagnosed with a kind of angina called non obstructive angina with impaired capillary reserve. The tiny blue vessels in my heart muscle don't open straight away when I start to walk briskly but my major blood vessels are all squeaky clean. The symptoms I got were a very mild chest tightness and not all the time. It's taken 3 years to get a diagnosis as the cardiologist was sceptical it was actually cardiac related (runner, never smoked, normal cholesterol). Saying that I've got moderately high bp and a family history. I'm 56 btw but this started when I was was 52/53, also got long covid which didn't help. This condition occurs predominantly in peri/menopausal women.
I second @perfectlypickledpixie . Really push with your GP for tests if you have those symptoms. All my results have been essentially normal but I was still getting them. I was discharged twice with no answer because everything was fine. I'm now on medication which has helped massively.

@Tutulechapeau glad you finally managed to be diagnosed. If the CT scan doesn't show anything then I was actually going to mention microvascular angina - and I think that's a form of non obstructive angina isn't it? I will push for more tests if necessary anyway. I think it's good to be well informed, even if all my Googling did send me a bit over the edge tbh! I am 49 but menopausal (hysterectomy a few years ago).

Glad the medication has helped you.

Regarding the porridge, I put frozen berries in mine and a pile of cocoa powder. It's not that sweet but it's tasty and no refined sugar.

I work in finance specialising in life insurance/income protection/etc and the underwriters have advised most teachers either suffer from some mental health condition or high blood pressure/other stress related bodily response.

Stress is the cause of some very serious health conditions.

It is what it is, I just wish I could figure out how to keep weight off. 46 and running 3 x weekly just isn't working anymore.