Concerned about husbands blood pressure

[Drwhoareyou]

My husband went for a general health check today and just got a reading of 160/110. Is this a dangerous figure? He has been prescribed medication Lisaniprol and has to go back in 2 days to be retested and also for an ECG rest. Has anyone got any experience of this drug?

Just to clarify that they only took the bloods yesterday

I think @Drwhoareyou there is a danger you are overreacting a little to this?

Your DHs blood pressure was high (they like it under 120/80) but a single reading is pretty meaningless - as others have said, white coat syndrome, stress on the day, not being at rest when taken, etc.

Some Gps will dish out BP meds instantly if they think the person is at risk of a stroke. But although 160/110 is too high long term, older members in my family have had that and it's righted itself.

The blood test will be to test his kidneys and find out if there is any underlying cause for the high BP. Long term, high BP can damage kidneys. And damaged kidneys can cause high BP too.

The poster who said once you are on BP s meds and it's forever it wrong.

Usually, a dr will suggest liestyle measures..

losing weight,
exercise daily- at least 30 mins
stop smoking
cut back on booze
eat more fruit and veg
reduce salt in the diet- not only added salt at the table but in bought foods like crisps, pizza, soups, ready meals, bacon and ham.

After doing all of the above for a month or so, the BP drugs can be stopped and the BP monitored daily at home.

After doing all of the above for a month or so, the BP drugs can be stopped and the BP monitored daily at home.

what I mean by this is the drugs can be stopped temporarily to get a clear reading of his BP when he is not taking meds.

I hope I am overreacting JinglingHellsBells and definitely taking the healthy living advice on board. Obviously more concerned that the blood test had flagged something of concern that he has to go back in to discuss, worried that there is an underlying problem. I have received some helpful comments on here and I am grateful, also grateful that I can express my real concerns on here as playing it down in RL. No real experience of this that is why I am asking for others experiences.

FWIW @Drwho someone close to me in my family had a BP reading way above that of your DH. It turned out to be probably down to over exertion and stress on a day ( they were very old.) They saw a cardiologist which I arranged for them as GP was all over the place with doses for BP meds, giving bad side effects.

It's possible your DH is one of millions of people who have had high BP for ages but never knew OR it's a one-off.

Either way, it's easily treatable; meds are very effective as is lifestyle.

I guess you know what his lifestyle is like- if he never exercises, has a poor diet (nowhere near 5 fruit or veg daily), smokes or drinks a lot, or is overweight, all are risk factors.

Some people who look healthy and are slim can still have high BP as sometimes it's hereditary no matter what they do to reduce it.

He'll be fine- try not to worry too much.

It's normal to get bloods back in a day. There may be nothing amiss but your GP is doing the right thing.

I know rather a lot about this as my dad died from kidney disease (and other things) in his 90s and was on BP meds for about 10 years before that. He only had 15% kidney function eventually and was on BP meds to control his BP and help his kidneys work .

Thanks Jingling. At least it’s been picked up on and is being treated and monitored. His dad had kidney and heart problems for years (v low kidney function and heart failure/heart attacks and pace maker), so this is another worry factor for me. Saying that his dad was in his 80’s when he died. He doesn’t smoke but could lose a bit of weight (not much) and could drink a bit less and exercise more, although his job is quite active and he walks to work which is a mile each way.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and experiences.

Bloods in a day is normal. They will want to see him before prescribing because the right drug (if he needs one) will depend on blood test results and other medical history.

I’m pleased they’re doing the protocol tests - need to rule out (or identify) any 2ndary cause for the hypertension and check for any damage caused by hypertension.

When I had my “hypertensive crisis “ - as it’s called - I asked the ‘but why have I got high blood pressure’ questions.

The response ‘test now, diagnose later’ was the mantra for a “hypertensive crisis”.

(though the explanations were given about primary and secondary hypertension- but the immediate focus was about avoiding a heart attack or stroke)

My bp when first causing alarm was 135/245. That put me on a week’s home monitoring and then initially onto lisinopril. That didn’t do enough so Bisoprolol was added in.
A year later I had a massive heart attack.

Who knows, if my bp had been treated sooner I’d have avoided the heart attack.

Lisinopril had the added benefit of protecting the left ventricle, which seems to be the mother lode in terms of hear function.

I now have decreased LV function and moderate mitral valve insufficiency, caused by the heart attack.

Tell him to take the meds.

245 for diastolic?? Please tell that’s a typo for 145?

Just put it wrong way around @Ariadne!

Ah

My mother had a high reading she was concerned about. From what I remember it was a similar to your DH's. She decided to walk up and down her stairs 10 times every day. Well, it did the trick! Next time the doctor measured it it was much lower.

@Drwhoareyou Any progress?

I've decided against taking the drugs and will just be monitoring for the time being.

I take lisinopril, my diastolic BP was high after having good readings all my life. High BP runs in the family, I am slim and otherwise healthy but have been told I will probably have to take them for life. I'm 54

@Bunnyfuller - I’ve never known anyone with blood pressure that high!

@Aridane

What was scary was I felt fine, no symptoms at all.

I must admit I’ve never seen a GP look so scared!