High Blood Pressure Reading - should I worry?

[Tighnabruaich]

So I had my blood pressure taken this morning along with some blood being taken for testing.
The reading was 155 over 150 and the person doing the testing (not a nurse, but she also takes blood, gives flu jabs) said 'that's not good'. She's asked me to come back in two weeks to see if it is a blip.
Should I be worried?

That's a high reading, especially the 150.
I'd buy a home BP monitor and record your readings day and night for the next week. Then you'll have something to show the health care professional.
I'm not sure if something should have been done straight away.. perhaps best to seek advice from your GP practice ,( telephone appointment)

155/150 is nonsense. The machine was playing up.

This was in my GP practice. He had arranged for the tests. I looked at home BP monitors but there are so many I don't know where to start. I'm getting a bit scared now.

I randomly took mine with my Dad's home machine, and it was 160/120. I panicked and rang my GP but couldn't get an appointment for 3 weeks, so ended up going into a local health access clinic the next day. They did one reading there and put me straight onto meds due to the stroke risk, then referred me back to my own GP where they did bloods etc a week later.

I'd get a home machine, they're not expensive and do readings 1st thing, last thing and once in between - record them all and take them back to your next appointment.

You can get a machine in Boots. Not too expensive

Thanks all. I've got a Boots across from the office - I'll go along now.

150 is a really, really high bottom number. But there is no difference between it and the top number of 155 (well, 5, but that's nothing). The typical text book blood pressure is given as 120/80 which has a difference of 40, and usually the numbers go up together (not always, you can just have one being high and the other fine).

With such a high bottom number the top number should be much higher. It's an absolutely massive jump from textbook 80 diastolic to your supposed 150. You'd be feeling terrible if it was the case, because it's nearly double what it "should" be.

This is why untrained people shouldn’t be doing nurses’ jobs.
Your practice nurse would have known that combination of systolic/diastolic is impossible, and would have repeated the measurement.
OP, you can buy home bp machines for about £25. Make sure it’s an upper arm one, and order the correct size of cuff. Take readings at different times of day, over a period of a few days, to get a better idea of what level you’re running as a baseline.
Alternatively, go back to the practice and ask for the nurse or GP to do a reading. But bear in mind it can often be raised above your normal level by simply feeling stressed at being in a healthcare setting - so called “white coat hypertension”.

At one point she called in the practice nurse, who is also able to prescribe drugs etc., to help her with the new computer system to fill in the deails. I assume the practice nurse saw the reading, or maybe she didn't. I think I might phone and see if I can speak to the practice nurse.

I've been to Boots and bought an upper arm machine to take readings at home.

Update. I spoke to the practice nurse, the actual reading was 150 over 100. So not so crazy. She's told me to come back next week rather than wait a fortnight.

When you go back for a check OP ask for it to be taken with a manual BP cuff and ask them to take three readings.

That sounds better . I'm told that my blood pressure shouldn't go over 140/90, which is almost what yours was.
I take readings at home in the morning and evening for a week before my annual checkup. & Note them down to take to the practice nurse)
I also do random readings throughout the year.

Thanks all. I'm going to take two readings a day at home so I can show the surgery next week when I go back for follow up. Not quite so despairing now - thought every moment was going to be my last!

Mine is always high when I go to the surgery, but it's 120/70 or thereabouts always at home.

Hopefully there's a bit of white coat syndrome about yours.

I posted on here about high blood pressure too. Mine is just over 140/90. Going back to the doctor in 2 weeks but God if you google it, its terrifying. Goes on about high risk for heart attacks and strokes.

I'm jumping in here after searching for high BP. Mine was 180/105 today...which along with a load of other symptoms means my doctor has immediately signed me off work and I've to go back at the end of the week. Trying not to Google...I've had 3 pregnancies and my BP was perfect every time. Should I be panicking now?

Blimey. I was in hospital overnight a few months ago with BP of 240/160 mmHg and didn't get signed off work. No other symptoms, diabetes or end-organ damage, though, and brought down considerably by a few doses of amlodipine. Now on three lots of medication but BP well controlled.

I spoke to the practice nurse, the actual reading was 150 over 100

That would be normal for me in the surgery, sometimes it's higher. It's been so high that the nurse will no longer prescribe me the Pill and I have to see the GP who will accept the readings from my home monitor.

I have health anxiety and I use my BP machine numerous times a day depending on how I'm feeling.
I'd urge you to use with precaution as i became highly dependant on mine. Anything over 120/80 and I would panic which would have me in an awful state.

Just like you Spied anything over 120/80 and I would panick. I no longer take it myself and when I have it done at the surgery I explain that.