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DH's blood pressure is sky high

109 replies

Carbuncula · 07/11/2021 13:10

DH is 50 and a bit overweight (as am I, we do try) but is otherwise a fit and active person - always on the go, very busy and physically strong.

He's so quite a tense angry person, has been as long as I've known him - when he's super tense he complains of headaches and a jittery sensation in his chest. He's been to the GP for it in the past, had some beta blockers but declared them useless and stopped taking them. He does drink alcohol - up to 6 units, 4 or 5 nights out of 7, but doesn't binge drink and doesn't smoke. Diet not great obviously but we walk a lot together.

I'd had a couple of slightly raised blood pressure readings recently so I invested in a UK approved home blood pressure monitor to keep track of it for a while. On a whim I laughingly suggested that we do his, as he's not had it measured by a doctor for about 10 years - the first reading was 205/120, which I assumed had to be an error! Left it 3 mins and did it again, it was 190/110.

I've been fairly cool about it with him and just suggested we try it in the morning when we've just woken up, when you should do it, but that reading is through the roof surely? He says he has a headache and I'm trying to keep him relaxed, but he's never really been able to - he doesn't sleep well either.

I don't want to scare him, he hates anything medical. I suggested if it's still high over the next few mornings I'll make him an appointment, and he has accepted that, but for certain he will scoff at any suggestion that it might be important.

Can a reading so crazily high be a one off?

OP posts:
ShaneTheThird · 09/11/2021 11:07

Sorry to say but feeling anxious is also a sign of an imminent heart attack. He needs to grow up now and get seen asap before he actually has a heart attack or stroke.

Carbuncula · 09/11/2021 13:42

I've got him in for 10am Friday with the Nurse Practitioner for a full wellness check, and apparently he can also speak to her about his tension/anxiety as she can prescribe.

Thanks everyone for your comments, sorry I got a bit snippy but I can't control an adult - he is a wonderful husband in every way, he's just scared that's all. I was the one who scared him.

OP posts:
3beesinmybonnet · 09/11/2021 14:58

@Carbuncula
Yesterday I went to the GP for a routine healthcheck. I hadn't had my bp checked for 15 years but wasn't worried as I had no symptoms, just mild hot flushes (I'm 61) and feeling a bit old and creaky.
Long story short my bp was 194 , the nurse sent me straight upstairs to see a GP, who immediately referred me to the local hospital. I was there till about 10 pm last night. They checked my eyes, my blood, my urine as well as my bp repeatedly and an ecg. I've been given some tablets and my DH got a bp monitor from the local chemist for £15 earlier today. My first reading is 146 after 2 tablets, a big improvement.
I'm a bit shellshocked today as it's sunk in what a close call I've had. Now I m just pottering round the house destressing.

I too have a DH who avoids the GP. It's taken me 37 years to get him to agree to have his cough investigated so I feel your pain! Don't let him back out of it - I had no symptoms not even headaches.

3beesinmybonnet · 09/11/2021 15:27

@Carbuncula
Sorry posted too soon.
I had to get my DH to take me to hospital, presumably in case I had a heart attack or stroke whilst driving there. We took some food and drink and I took a book to read which definitely helped me stay calm. I was there 5-6 hours.

At risk of sounding like a scaremongerer I would ring the GP again, tell them his bp reading and ask for an emergency appointment today.

The NHS may not be perfect but their combined efforts yesterday have probably just saved my life. Anyone wondering if they should get there bp checked out please please don't put it off. Thank you so much NHS.

Good luck to you and your DH OP

Purplewithred · 09/11/2021 17:03

@Carbuncula

I've got him in for 10am Friday with the Nurse Practitioner for a full wellness check, and apparently he can also speak to her about his tension/anxiety as she can prescribe.

Thanks everyone for your comments, sorry I got a bit snippy but I can't control an adult - he is a wonderful husband in every way, he's just scared that's all. I was the one who scared him.

Really pleased (and relieved) to hear that. And you are not to blame, his blood pressure reading and the implications of it were the scary bit. Glad he's getting on top of it.
cptartapp · 09/11/2021 17:13

He'll need an ECG and a load of bloods too to check for Diabetes and kidney/cardiac issues etc.
Your DH is a good example of someone you may have considered 'to have no underlying health issues', as so often quoted with Covid fatalities. Thousands do. Hundreds of thousands. They just have no idea.
Practice nurse here that does health checks and sees this all the time.

purpleme12 · 09/11/2021 17:15

So strange when I read comments about people being taken to hospital straightaway for blood pressure this high. This never happened to me and mine was this high. I just had that 24 hours monitor after they found out and went on tablets and even then it took a while to come down

And to the person who said there wasn't a correlation between high blood pressure and headaches, there absolutely definitely is. Maybe not for everyone but there definitely is.
I had headaches/migraines for years before we found out about the high blood pressure. As soon as I went on the tablets they stopped. Gone from having them quite often to not at all. Not a coincidence

Mamabear12 · 09/11/2021 18:37

And yes some people get headaches from it. I did not, but know someone who has bad ones daily and was sick from them and by the time they found out high bp they had kidney damage. However, once they brought bp down w pills headaches went.

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 18:44

@Justwalkyourfineassoutthedoor

You need to call 111 and get him seen today, do not leave it until tomorrow morning. When my blood pressure was that high I was sent to hospital and put on the High Dependency Ward for 4 days until they could get it under control.
Were you pregnant, though, or have underlying health conditions?
Carbuncula · 09/11/2021 19:16

I think he's seeing it as an opportunity to get some medication for his anxiety, I've backed off of the BP issue a bit and I'm not focusing on it - he was very spooked at the idea of having to go to hospital.

Hopefully he'll be less tense by Friday when he goes for his "wellness check" and they won't want him to go in - he'll take the medication quite gladly and I casually said they might want him to wear a monitor for 24 hrs.

In the meantime I can't get the £50 Healthpoint monitor I bought to work properly now! Maybe it's faulty after all...

OP posts:
Mythroatisstillsore · 09/11/2021 19:28

Good luck OP xx

WhoWants2Know · 09/11/2021 22:06

If he's a good candidate for beta blockers, they can really help with the anxiety as well as the blood pressure.

SeaToSki · 09/11/2021 22:13

Can you leave a message for the nurse practitioner to ask them to make sure they take his blood pressure as you got a high reading at home and are concerned. And ask them to not mentioned you called as he might take it the wrong way. Sometimes they dont automatically do blood pressure at an appointment (although they bloody well should)

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 22:17

Sometimes they dont automatically do blood pressure at an appointment (although they bloody well should)

A BP appointment can be at least 10 minutes. The patients needs to sit quietly for five minutes then the BP might need to be taken up to three times. So it's not a case of HCPs being negligent but that there aren't enough hours in the day for all the things that 'should' be done.

purpleme12 · 09/11/2021 22:21

Well they've never waited that long for mine whenever it's taken!
And if they had taken it at any appointment(without waiting for five minutes) mine would have been found a lot quicker!

Inthewainscoting · 09/11/2021 22:24

Glad to hear he's got an appointment.
I've had one friend be whisked into hospital when he couldn't see and long story short, BP was sky high, turned out blood vessels in his eye had burst. He's on meds and OK now but his vision is still not perfect. Ideally your DH will get the meds and lower his BP while his vision is still good enough to drive...

SpookyPumpkinPants · 09/11/2021 22:28

[quote MatildaIThink]@Immaculatemisconception
It is a hospital matter, with a blood pressure as high as his he would be admitted and medicated urgently to bring his blood pressure down.[/quote]
I was discharged with higher BP than that. TWICE.

Had daily visits for post surgical care where I asked them to take it for me & it stayed that high.

He needs a GP apt, not rushing in tonight. Being alarmist doesn't help.

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 22:30

@purpleme12

Well they've never waited that long for mine whenever it's taken! And if they had taken it at any appointment(without waiting for five minutes) mine would have been found a lot quicker!
Well, exactly! What do you think is the answer then? So many people needing appointments and so little time.
purpleme12 · 09/11/2021 22:35

@GreenLunchBox I think the answer would be just taking the blood pressure at any appointment
Like I said if that had been done at any of mine it would have been picked up
It doesn't need 5 minutes. Mine has never taken taken 5 minutes when I've been

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 22:56

It never takes just 5 minutes though. Every time you do someone's BP, unless they are young, it is high so needs to be repeated and repeated. That's why HCPs aren't keen on doing a 'quick' BP check at appointments for other stuff

purpleme12 · 09/11/2021 22:59

But this post doesn't make sense
If someone had checked my blood pressure at my doctor's appointments about other things over the years it would have been picked up literally years in advance of when it was actually picked up
By the time mine was picked up (and actually this was picked up at an appointment about my ear, something completely unrelated and she just did the blood pressure anyway) it was actually sky high
And turns out that was what my recurrent migraines were about as they stopped completely once I was on tablets
So bearing this in mind I can't see a reason why this wouldn't be a good idea!

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 23:11

@purpleme12

But this post doesn't make sense If someone had checked my blood pressure at my doctor's appointments about other things over the years it would have been picked up literally years in advance of when it was actually picked up By the time mine was picked up (and actually this was picked up at an appointment about my ear, something completely unrelated and she just did the blood pressure anyway) it was actually sky high And turns out that was what my recurrent migraines were about as they stopped completely once I was on tablets So bearing this in mind I can't see a reason why this wouldn't be a good idea!
I agree someone with migraines definitely should have had their BP taken. If you take triptans it's important that you don't have high BP. I was just responding to you saying BP should be taken as standard as part of any consultation.
purpleme12 · 09/11/2021 23:13

I still think it should be taken as standard
At the point when mine was found out I wasn't there because of migraines
And I've never been on triptans

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 23:15

Sorry, it wasn't you saying that, it was SeaToSki

GreenLunchBox · 09/11/2021 23:21

@purpleme12

I still think it should be taken as standard At the point when mine was found out I wasn't there because of migraines And I've never been on triptans
Are you young, though? Most people under 40 won't have high BP. There are limited appointments and at the moment lots of people spend five minutes of an appointment complaining that they can't get through on the phone or that they've not been able to see their GP f2f(ironically adding to the problem) . Let's add doing BPs for everybody. Do you really think that will be an improvement to the current situation?
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