New hypertension

[BH90210]

I’m mid 40s. I went to see GP about general exhaustion and just feeling rubbish. The last few times I’ve visited GP my BP was measured and high so they arranged for 24 hours home BP measurements and I had device for 24 hours.

The results show I have a ‘new hypertension’ the receptionist called me to tell me this and have told me I need to do an ECG, more bloods and a urine dip test to rule out blood in my urine.

Why would high BP make me have blood in my urine and what could that indicate?

Im reading the advice on hypertension and I don’t smoke or drink, I exercise and my diet is pretty healthy. ( although could be better I suppose) But I do have a lot of stress in my life. The last 5 years in particular have been extremely stressful

Can anyone share experiences of how you’ve lowered blood pressure naturally and through lifestyle changes? Am not sure how I’m going to reduce stress as the things causing me stress are not going to go away. (Financial, aging parent with health issues, husband not getting what my mental load means, child issues)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

High blood pressure can damage the blood vessels in the kidneys, they dip your urine to check for blood and protein as this can indicate your kidneys aren’t filtering blood properly. It would be very unlikely early on in diagnosis for there to be damage. I’ve had high blood pressure for years after having pre eclampsia, I’m still working out how to lower it -and take medication but the GP said some of it can be genetic no matter how many lifestyle changes you make. Foods high in nitrates I.e leafy greens and
beetroot and also food high in potassium is meant to lower blood pressure.
Just to reassure I’ve had high Bp since I was 32 and have annual kidney check for years and everything is fine.

Thank you for replying and for the reassurance.

What medication do you take do you mind me asking please?

it’s often not lifestyle related although lowering stress can help.

Some of my friends developed it after pregnancy & are on meds which keeps it well controlled.

Reducing stress is quite difficult as you say, have you tried yoga, breathing, meditation, therapy?

Ask family as it could be genetic

High BP is not going to cause tiredness and generally feeeling rubbish, so they will try to screen for things that can cause all these things. A friend of mine developed high BP after she caught Covid.

I take Ramipril which I think is the most common type, I’ve never had any side effects or anything.
also look up British heart disease they have info about DASH diet and everything you need to know about the condition. Another poster mentioned high blood pressure doesn’t cause tiredness etc but actually mine was getting to very high levels without me knowing which was causing a ‘fuzzy head’ feeling and extreme fatigue. Your body is having to work harder to pump blood around so over time this can have an affect but yes many people don’t have any symptoms. your symptoms are likely to be stress related aswell. I would definitely look at ways at trying to reduce the stress! It isn’t a nice feeling knowing you have it young but it’s so much better that it’s picked up and managed now! Good luck

Thank you, the exhaustion has been another level recently. My bloods showed iron and b12 quite low. Not low enough for iron tablets but I’ve bought a supplement

Reduce salt intake is one thing to do to reduce BP. How high is it?

They haven’t even told me my results yet. I had the 24 hour test last week and the receptionist called me with the information.an out further tests. But couldn’t give me any results.

I was diagnosed with stage 2 hypertension in November.
Like you, gone to GP with chronic fatigues, assuming perimenopause etc, but BP alarmingly high at 192/120.
Started on ramipril which made no difference at all and gave me an awful cough. Changed to amplodipine which is working, BP now averaging 125/85 (so normal).
I add garlic to EVERYTHING and also take an aged garlic supplement.

Mine is also a hangover from preeclampsia!
Ive got some weight off, eat healthily etc
Picked up with a routine test, like you I did the 7 day BP home testing and it was through the roof so started Ramipril.

As someone up thread described, fatigue has got worse and the fuzzy head is annoying me so I’ve now started on Amilodipine as well as Ramipril as it’s not keeping a lid on it.
It’s a low dose and is making a difference with no side effects.

Way I see it, nipping it in the bud stops the domino cascade of vessel damage, kidney damage and ultimately heart failure due to overworking it, I need my heart for another 30 years so I’m investing in it early with a couple of daily pills, simple & easy.

I had a follow up appointment yesterday. My average BP was 126/90 so not massively high. ECG and blood results OK. Cholesterol not ideal but not high enough for meds.

i suppose it’s a bit of a wake up call to look at my diet and lifestyle and try to make some positive changes.

Thanks everyone for your advice