Blood pressure advice (not in pregnancy)... any good ideas, please?

[Ellbell]

I'm looking for advice on how I can help dh lower his blood pressure.

He was due to have a vasectomy today. Arrived at the hospital (scrotum shaved as instructed ), waited till it was his turn and then was told that they couldn't do it as his BP was too high. It was 92, apparently, and they wanted it below 85.

Quite apart from the vasectomy (which is obviously not essential), I am a bit worried by this. There is a history of heart disease in his family, and his dad died of a heart attack at 54. Dh is 43. He's overweight (15st @ 5'8") and drinks a bit too much. He has a dodgy knee (ACL injury) which means that he doesn't do much in the way of weight-bearing exercise (running, etc.). Oh, and atm he's commuting 2.5 hours a day and working anti-social hours (either starting very early, or finishing late), which doesn't help.

Although my own BP is low and I barely drink, I could definitely do with losing some weight, so I'm going to try to do this with him.

So... any advice? I know he needs to:

• drink less
• eat fewer fatty foods
• take more exercise

What else?

He has often started out on attempts to get fitter and lose weight, but it never lasts very long. Him being sent home from the hospital today has shocked both of us, so I want to try to use this as a stimulus actually to do something.

Thanks for any advice you have.

Less salt in diet.

You need to find out why it's so high. If it's furred up arteries you could do with knowing sooner rather than later, really.

Can you get a babysitter once a week and go swimming together?

What was his top figure? I'm surprised they cancelled the op with a diastolic pressure of 92. It is on the high side but not hugely and I would have thought his blood pressure was raised by the thought of a vasectomy! Is he going back to your GP?

It sounds like you are on the right track but remember to reduce your salt intake. Let us know how you get on. I'm trying to reduce my blood pressure naturally as GP wants to put me on medication so will be interested to hear how DH gets on.

We cut out almost all salt in our cooking when we had the Babybells (i.e. no longer add to rice/pasta/sauces, etc.) and we almost never eat processed food. I do put salt in bread (1 tsp per loaf made in bread-maker). Can I cut that out or will my bread be disgusting?

Will have to investigate the babysitter thing. Atm we get a babysitter about 3 times a year, and because dh's hours are unpredictable (no shift pattern as such, it varies from week to week) it's hard to join any clubs or things because we can't guarantee being able to go regularly. But reading that back, it does sound a bit like an excuse. Hmmm... I think we need to take this a bit lot more seriously.

How do we find out if it's furred-up arteries, WT? He's had his BP and cholesterol checked at the doctor's in the past, and they said that they were both on the high side of normal but nothing to worry about.

Lubyloo... apparently you have to be careful cutting into the scrotum because it's 'loose' and therefore if it starts to bleed and the BP is too high it can be difficult to stop it and if a clot forms inside the scrotum another operation will be necessary to fish it out.

Well, you did ask!

Not sure what the other number was. Dh didn't ask... (I think he basically heard the explanation above and ran away screaming! )

Feeling rather queasy now!

I had an ECG as part of the investigations into my high blood pressure so that would have shown up signs of heart disease (and I would think furred up arteries)

Check out the British Heart Foundation's info here, it's pretty good.

I would advise him to make some lifestyle changes where possible - dietary, exercise (doesn't have to be weight bearing) and relaxation. He is already potentially predisposed to heart trouble with his dad's history so really needs to take some action. Small changes can have significant results - apparently reducing your weight by 5% can reduce your BP by up to about 10 mmHg.

I would recommend he see his practice nurse for 3 BP readings over a month, then see the GP with the results.

Thanks Sidge. That's a really useful site.

Sorry for TMI before....