Anyone else got high blood pressure?

[RoséProsecco]

Mine was always low until pregnancy, when I developed very severe pre-eclampsia at only 28 weeks. I had no risk factors & was very fit, normal weight, with a healthy diet.

I'm now in my early 50's & I guess the inevitable has happened, where I asked for a check at the GP surgery, it was found to be very high (ended up at A&E).

So I've started in medication, lost some weight.

I already run 5K a couple of times a week, average 8K steps daily, no added salt, oily fish 1-2 x a week, aim for 5 a day etc.

But I've been getting headaches, especially at work, and my home monitor is showing me mostly above 90 in the morning (diastolic/lower number).

So I phoned the GP surgery & got a bit of a lecture about stress, diet & exercise.

I'm a single parent working full-time in a stressful role (NHS). I can't change these things.

Just feeling a bit dispirited

What had worked for other people?

Yes me. 54 BMI about 24 size 12.
Went to discuss HRT needed BP before GP would prescribe.
I think it was 180/90 at the time. Had to do 2 weeks home monitoring, never got much better.

We eat well (I'm a dietitian) but I am bone idle and about 6kg heavier than I would like to be.
Doing more exercise and slowly losing weight but I'm on Candesartan too.
BP generally 115/75 now.

Be careful about home machines, they are notoriously unreliable. I took mine into my GP after getting wildly fluctuating readings and it was nothing like his reading, so I binned it

They are not notoriously unreliable. Mine (which was about a tenner off Amazon) is the same as my GP uses.

@Charlotteowensdodgydad - I didn't have symptoms at all when pregnant, or when diagnosed in my 50's.

I was over 200/100+ without any idea.

I wondered if I was getting symptoms now that it was treated, and creeping up.

I didn't have access to a machine at work when I had the headaches so will take it with me.

It's the same one they use in the surgery & the levels are broadly similar when checked.

Be careful about home machines, they are notoriously unreliable. I took mine into my GP after getting wildly fluctuating readings and it was nothing like his reading, so I binned it. A reputable brand as well

Don't agree this is a general issue. You must have been unlucky. We had a home machine years ago when dh was first diagnosed with high BP.

Recently his medication hasn't been working and his dr gave him a home machine so he could record his BP regularly over a period of time and let the dr see the results.

When he had to return it we bought a new one.

All the machines we've had have been very reliable and haven't given wildly varying results. I check my BP too and it's always consistent and in line with GP readings - and the reading taken by the nice lady in Boots who offered to check my BP recently.

OP I think if you are wanting to minimise medication you would need to be aiming for approx middle of the nhs bmi healthy weight range, manage your cholesterol levels if they are high normal or high, and change the content of your diet possibly quite significantly (difficult if working long hours with other commitments).

Severe pre-eclampsia increases the risk of high BP later on.

My (world renowned in this field) consultant told me it was when not if I would need BP medication. I lasted out for 10 years

There is information out there but GP's don't seem to know much about it

That's really interesting as someone who had pre-eclampsia then went on blood pressure 5 years later.
However I believe I had had high blood pressure for years before it was picked up. I had headaches/migraines for years before I started the medicine which stopped as soon as I started the medicine.
No one mentioned any increased chance or checked me when I was at doctors about other stuff or even once I mentioned my headaches.
Mine was picked up at the drop in centre when I went about an ear infection and she happened to do my blood pressure.
I think it's really poor to be honest.

I'm on 5mg ramipril, so are my brothers. I'm 45.

I do need to lose some weight but given how much high BP there is in my family I may always be on meds. I developed high BP at the end of both pregnancies, it resolved after the babies were born.

Fast forward to Feb 2023 and my gallbladder removal, and the nurses telling me my blood pressure was consistently high. I had no symptoms.

I've recently been diagnosed hypertensive

Had several bleeds in the eye and lots of headaches , checked B/P , it was very high

Gp gave me a machine to record twice daily for a week - average Systolic was 160 and Diastolic was 100

Bloods showed highish cholesterol but not enough for treatment

Started on Amlodipine 5mg

I've noticed some spots? bites ? rash on my arms and legs and wondering if anyone else has experienced this

Was embarrassed and thought they were flea bites but nothing on cat , she's treated regularly and sometimes I feel they only come up when I scratch the skin ? Google suggests maybe cholesterol but not seen GP since started on meds 2 weeks ago

Any advice , thank you ?

I had awful leg pains with Amlodipene but can't recall and spots. GP huffed a little when I said I wanted to try something else but I've been on Lisinipril for ages with no problems

My GP was also a bit arsey about changing me from Amlodipine to Lisinopril - although my urine samples consistently had protein in & my feet were so swollen I couldn't get my slippers on - which isn't good for a runner!

No skin marks or bites though....

No swollen ankles yet but still early days for me
Will be keeping an eye for that
Thanks all , very strange---- , never had these spots before
Don't think sweat rash even though I'm melting also

@RoséProsecco have you had renal function tests done ? ACE inhibitors can affect it and already having protein in urine plus swollen ankles could actually be related to renal issues (not wanting to be over dramatic !).

I had horrible reactions with all ace inhibitors - felt like I was going to faint all the time etc - but can just about tolerate a low dose beta blocker. The only think being it sends your resting heart right quite low in many cases (around 47 in my case st times) and it made my legs feel weak- problem is that whilst loads of these drugs are helpful they often have very unpleasant side effects for some - I've tried various periods off beta blocker and my BP is stable but around 133/85 - it's not horrendous and it's tempting to consider whether not to take meds at all due to the fact of the side effects

@Charlotteowensdodgydad - yes, the proteinuria has now resolved on ace inhibitors & I'm getting my bloods checked when there is a dosage change.

And I started on a statin too - out of choice - although I'm in the grey area for risk - boy with my family history I'm not taking chances.

I’ve got high bp too. I’d always had lowish blood pressure. Throughout pregnancy it stayed low. A year earlier, I’d had a check and it was still good. Fast forward a year and it was high. I’ve not been prescribed medication. It’s thought that it’s high due to stress.

Diagnosed with high blood pressure nearly 20 years ago and have been on medication ever since. Lost weight, got fit, all the lifestyle stuff, but cannot control it without medication. Now I'm also on statins and low dose aspirin too. Happy to report no side effects.

I'm also on statins as a precautionary measure. My cholesterol was 5.2 which is average but with stains it's now 3.4 (and I eat a lot of shit )

I've just been diagnosed with it. I was on Amlodipine for two weeks before I got horrendous stomach pains and I couldn't eat, plus incontinence. Apparently "disorders of urination" is a thing 😳

Now they have prescribed Ramipril but on reading the leaflet i shouldn't be taking it as I have Lupus 🙄 Now I have the fun of trying for yet another GP appointment, took me 2 months last time.

The GP also said my BP should be 135/85, hah! but I see some pp's are a lot lower! Mine are approx 150s/90s

You can end up with "unexplained high blood pressure" I went for a regular BUPA type check 10 years ago, and BP was 150/100 - fair enough, slightly overweight, stressful job, 4 kids, drinker, smoker and salt lover. I was told that it would be helpful if I contacted my Doc, but to monitor it myself, so I bought a good quality monitor from Boots that afternoon. I ended up in A&E that night as my BP peaked at 275/175 at midnight after going up steadily all night, so I drove myself to hospital (same reading on hospital's machine) No symptoms, maybe slight headache but it was about 4am and I had been in A&E for hours by that point. Doctors very concerned, immediately put on drugs and after a few "OK-ish" readings sent home. Was put on Amlodipine and Ramipril, legs swelled so moved to Losartan and Bendroflumethiazide. Better BP but still high at times, but equally, intermittently really low ( I have had 100/60). LOTS of investigations, heart and kidneys particularly, 24 hour monitors, the lot. Was put on Pregabalin for a short time but it made my blood pressure so low I would faint and was dizzy. One minute, whacking high, ten minutes later, normal. Eventually put on Doxazosin, Losartan, Indapamide, and Bisporol, which seem to work for me, although a lot of tablets to take. All of my grandparents died of stroke / aneuryisms before they were 60. Whereas some lifestyle changes would definitely help me, I think it easy for people to fall back on that as a stock response, and it isn't the full answer (i think genetics plays a big part). As an aside, and without being doom and gloom, DO make sure your travel insurance covers you, needing treatment abroad if you have a "hypertension related incident" you will not be covered if you are taking any sort of drugs for high blood pressure. Hasn't cost much more for me, but worth a thought. XX