Am I being precious/ silly about bp

[firstpregnancy1]

I'm 24 weeks pregnant with my first baby and today was told by the midwife to get checked at the hospital after 3 days of reduced movements.

I went and they checked heart beat and urine and all seems fine.

My blood pressure was 127/97 which is a 'normal' reading and the midwife wasn't concerned at all.

I'd stupidly forgotten to take my notes with me to the hospital as I had to leave in a rush so the midwife obviously wouldn't have seen what my previous blood pressure readings were.

I've always had relatively low bp and when I got home I checked and my previous readings have been 105/60 and 100/55 at the 12 and 20 week scans.

I know that 127/97 is 'normal' and so the midwife wasn't concerned, but i can't help worry that there may be a concern given the increase, and that 127/97 is normal for most but higher for me personally.

Should I call the triage team (again) and explain this or is this silly? I don't want to call up and essentially be telling them I'm worried about my blood pressure when it's in the normal range still!

I’d call and ask the question.

The 97 bottom figure is in the higher range rather than normal range so I'm surprised they have put it as a normal reading. The rushing about and worry about movement could have driven your blood pressure up but you would have thought they would have taken it again to see if it had reduced

I’m a nurse, not a midwife, but generally systolic blood pressure variation in response to exertion or stress (e.g. rushing to appointment) from 100 to 120’s isn’t abnormal.
I would call triage if it’s going to weigh on your mind.

Last time I had my BP checked it was slightly high and the nurse said it was policy to check it again towards the end of the appointment just in case it was a blip due to things like rushing around or nerves over the appointment. When she checked it again around 10 minutes later it was normal.

I'd definitely call the MW to query it and explain that even if she classes it as normal it is high compared to your personal normal.

That isn’t a ‘normal’ reading - it’s not scary high but as soon as that bottom number is over 90 it’s cause for some monitoring in pregnancy.

It could be absolutely caused by rushing around, stress, anxiety etc but they should’ve measured it three times and I’d have expected a 15-30 min BP profile in the MAU.

Can you call your doctor to have a chat?

BP actually falls in the early part of pregnancy so you’d expect booking BP to be lower than usual but the 97 fig is higher than ideal.

I’m not an Obstetrician, but I‘ve had two sets of pregnancy induced hypertension, treated by drugs both times, and the onset was quite fast and my BP was volatile at times.

Have you had any headaches or blurred vision?

As a midwife I think she should have rechecked again as the lower number is slightly high. Chances are it would have been OK, it quite often is up a bit if you are a bit anxious or have been rushing around. It would be worth calling triage for advice, no one will mind and it's better to check. And definitely call if you get other symptoms, headache, heartburn type pain or swelling. Good luck.

@Hopefulhen

I’m a nurse, not a midwife, but generally systolic blood pressure variation in response to exertion or stress (e.g. rushing to appointment) from 100 to 120’s isn’t abnormal. I would call triage if it’s going to weigh on your mind.

But isn’t the diastolic pressure a concern? I have always been told once the Systolic hits 140 or Diastolic hits 90 it’s classed as ‘high’.

Ring them - if it’s nothing then it’ll give you peace of mind

I would get it checked again. Better to be safe and give you peace of mind. I take meds for hypertension, which first came to light with my first pregnancy, and my aim is to keep the diastolic pressure (bottom figure) below 90.

I'd call them and voice hour concerns. You'll only worry if you don't.
Diastolic is high and for you personally, so is the systolic.

@HollsLolls

I would get it checked again. Better to be safe and give you peace of mind. I take meds for hypertension, which first came to light with my first pregnancy, and my aim is to keep the diastolic pressure (bottom figure) below 90.

Me too - it never resolved after second pregnancy and I’m on so many pills. I hate it.

Thanks everybody, I called the triage team but just before I did I noticed i was wrong and it was 127/79 not 97! So the second reading is still 'normal' too! What a wally. But I called and they said it's not unusual especially as they took BP before checking baby's heart rate so probably higher because of being a bit anxious! Was advised to look out for other symptoms etc but luckily not had any so far!

It's so hard to know where the line is between worrying over something and having something to worry about!!

Oh great OP - so glad it’s all fine 😊

Your diastolic is a little high OP, yes. I'm surprised it wasn't rechecked since you would imagine it's the activity and stress of hospital etc. White coat syndrome is very real.

Without doubt though, if you are worried or experiencing any symptoms then call your GP and get professional advice. Perhaps pick up a BP monitor in the pharmacy or Boots etc and then you can check it yourself at home to assuage concerns and track any changes.