Blood pressure reading

[Barlow11]

Hi all . Ive been feeling unwell for a few months now. Headaches, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness which I put it down to a lingering virus. Ive visited my mum today who has a BP monitor. I’ve checked my BP and it’s 137/93 - can anyone tell me what this means please? I am looking it up in google but Im confused - can anyone help- posting here for traffic Tia

How old are you? How is your health generally?

It’s a little elevated but if you’re unwell it’s not surprising.

That reading in isolation would not be a concern.

Why are you taking your blood pressure?

You are hypertensive so would make an appt with your GP to have it checked.

It’s a bit raised but would be better if done in sequence, so over the course of a week along side general health checks.
Make an appointment with the nurse practitioner at your GP practice if you can.

Stop scaremongering - it’s slightly elevated. Stress, worry, being under the weather could elevate it that much.

If it’s isolated then there’s nothing to send you to the doctor urgently.

Certainly worth going regarding the other symptoms but that BP alone isn’t alarming.

It's slightly raised but nothing to worry about as a one off. Your blood pressure won't be causing your symptoms but your symptoms might be leading to the rise in blood pressure.

I think you need to make an appointment with your GP as you have been feeling unwell for several months and so that they can monitor your blood pressure.

If your GP is anything like mine, then will ask you to take readings AM & PM for 5 days, recording them. They will look at the average readings.

FWIW @Barlow11 I had those exact symptoms and had a vitamin D deficiency.

I take 4000iu a day now and they symptoms went in about 2 weeks.

I’d ask for some blood tests to check if you may need the sane.

I agree - it's a little high but as a one off reading it's nothing to panic about.

Take it twice a day and take 3 readings each time. Record the lowest. That will give you a much better idea of what your BP is. Then make a GP appt if you need to.

Thanks All- im a little stressed currently- well a lot tbh. Thank you for your responses. I was worrying myself sick there. Life is hectic presently so I’m eating at odd hours and not exercising as I should. I had a virus that I found difficult to shake also.

Sorry meant to say I’m almost 49

I’ve had no symptoms but during a routine medical mine was 165/110 for three readings, doctor asked if I’d had headache etc and as others have said, I have to record readings for a week and go from there.

You really don’t need to be panicking over a reading like that.

I’m on medication for hypertension and it’s well controlled and I get the occasional reading like that.

Stress is almost certainly the reason for that higher BP but you really need to address your other symptoms and the stress before worrying about a 1 off reading.

Only then start doing a BP diary.

Also read the instruction leaflet for the device or go online for one and make sure you re using it correctly.

I think what worries me is that I’m generally a well person. I may get the odd cold or big but nothing that lasts more than a few days. I’ve never had an issue with blood pressure aside from anaemia in my youth. I suppose it must be the stress - it’s the only difference really.

Blood pressure changes all the time - it goes up with exercise and so on. It will fluctuate through the day. But the fitter you are, the quicker it should return to a normal reading. Because it fluctuates is why it's good to get readings over a day, as then you can see a pattern of raised BP or a temporary thing due to exercise, (which could be walking to the corner shop or a bit of housework, not just running 5K,) or even just something scary on the TV.

I had quite an impressive spike at the GP, but just before she took it, she'd been talking about eye investigations, and I'm squeamish about eyes. It showed... We waited about 15 minutes and tried again, and it was only just above normal by then.

You can buy a good quality upper arm BP machine for less than £50 (look for Omron). Learn how to use it properly - there are plenty of sources online that will tell you how to take your blood pressure. Make sure you buy one with the correct sleeve size.

As others have said, take three readings about 2 minutes apart. Many machines will time the readings for you and will also give you an average for the most recent three readings. Everyone's BP fluctuates according to the time of day.

Get used to using the machine and take your BP two or three times a day for several days. Make sure you don't need a pee. Don't eat or drink just before taking your BP. Sit down quietly for 10 minutes with no talking. Don't cross your legs.

A one off reading is not very meaningful.

If after a few days' checking you are still getting readings that are a bit high, then yes, make an appointment to discuss with your GP. If you have "white coat" hypertension (ie you feel anxious in medical situations and your BP goes up) then having it checked in the doctor's office won't be meaningful, either.

Many GPs are happy to be accept home readings.