Can chest infection cause high blood pressure????? can any midwifes out my mind at rest?

[jkb]

Hi

me again... I seem to be having nothing but problems lately!!

I have been ill for a week now, started with tummy pains (had a thread on here about it)& then a very tight chest, trouble breathing,lots of phlem,cough, cold etc... finally i went to the docs today as i am really having trouble catching my breath & I have a chest infection.. however, my BP was really high, he did it 5 times & it was about 160/97. my bp normally fine, 120/70...
he seemed very concered, & i have to go back in 2 days.. howver im now worried... could the infection cause such a dramitic increase in BP or could it be a problem. had urine checked last wed as midwife appoint & was normal..

Well I'm not sure a chest infection can cause high blood pressure but stress and anxiety can certainly increase it. Not easily done I know esp when your ill AND pregnant AND worried, but is there anything you can do to relax a bit....?

i dont feel too stressed at the mo, well didnt untill after he said about my blood pressure anyway!! My mum had been here staying & so I had actually been having quite a nice rest!?? (well as nice as it can be with being ill!)

Hello,

well your general observations can be affected when you are unwell,but more likely to be your pulse rate and obviously your temperature. It does seem to have gone up quite a bit, doesnt it?. I think its good the the gp is rechecking in 2 days and if still raised then can do bloods to rule out preeclampsia.

It is your diastolic blood pressure they are most concerned about wrt pre-eclampsia- anything above 90 is a cause for concern and unlikely to be caused by stress/illness- having done it 5 times also indicates it was a reliable reading. PE can develop very quickly, and as early as 20wks, so if I were you I would keep a very close eye on any swelling, visual disturbances, upper abdominal pain, headache and if you're worried go to hospital asap. I developed severe PE and HELLP syndrome at 30wks, had no idea how ill I was and it was very sudden onset.

I hope you are ok, but do check out the symptoms of PE on: www.preeclampsia.org/symptoms.asp

Thank you for all your help, I too think its gone too high for it just to be the infection to blame & thats why im worrying... I do have some swelling..but had that a while...got a head ache, but thats all to do with this infection & virus I have i think.
I have a 3 year old son & am frightened that ill have to go in & stay in hospital or somthing... does anyone know WHAT they will do if tommorow my BP is still high??? they wont send me into hospital or anything will they?? (its the midwife im seeing tommorow)... i could pop into the chemist today & have it checked.. would prob only make me worry though if its still high!

if its still high when the midwife checks you again she will refer you into hospital and they will do bloods. They will most likely send them to be done straightaway at the lab while you wait for the results. Depending on the results they may keep you in. If the results are normal and there are no signs of pre eclampsia then you will probably be monitored twice wkly at the hospital and they may start medication if itstays high.

Try not to worry as it may just settle!

I only had bloods done last monday (so 7 days ago) is it possible that it could have come on since then (as them bloods were ok I think) or wouldnt they have been looking for the right thing in them bloods?

Not sure if they would have done PET bloods a week ago, possible though- but even if those were normal it can easily still occur since then. PET bloods are not always conclusive, so sometimes depending on what symptoms you have they may advise bedrest and may want frequent BP monitoring, either at home or in hospital. I was hospitalised for 10 days before DD was born but had a history of PE, so once my diastolic BP rose above 90 and refused to come down even with BP meds they kept me in. It was hard as had DS aged 2 then, and hosp was 1.5hrs from home. But in the grander scheme of things it wasn't for that long, DS "forgave me" and was actually very good despite the disruption- and we managed to get to over 36wks which was a big milestone for me.

Usually if your BP persists a midwife or GP will have to send you to hospital maternity unit for bloods and monitoring, and if they are really worried they could keep you in- so maybe pack a bag just in case. Don't want to worry you but best to be prepared then hopefully it won't happen! It could all be just a blip.

How far on are you? Good luck, will be thinking of you xx

PS. Meant to add they may also want to check your urine for protein frequently- I was given dip sticks so I could do this at home. However PE is a mysterious condition and can manifest the symptoms in an odd order, as it seems so people's bodies can cope with higher BP than others before protein is excreted into the urine, so it is very difficult to distinguish between pregnancy induced hypertension (PET, usually treated with BP meds) and full-blown PE.

Really hope you start to feel better soon, try not to worry though know that's easier said than done.

Thank you so much for all your advice jumping jellyfish, you are very kind. I am 31 weeks now.
I have just been to the local chemist... had BP done there.. not sure if their equipment is reliable?? sure it is...can it go down & then up again with PE or would it be constantly up?

They did it twice & the readings were fine:
131/81 & 114/72.. so pretty perfect? weird ay?
Does this mean I need not worry anymore? I should maybe canx tomm appointment do you think?

also forgot to say my pulse has been high too- even today.. is that a normal pregnanct thing?

yest = 110
today = 108 & 116

bump

Yes, you're blood pressure can go up and down if you have pre-eclampsia. Automated blood pressure monitors can be less accurate than manual (ie with a stethoscope) readings, plus public ones like in a pharmacy may not be correctly calibrated and can give inaccurate readings.

Your pulse may be higher than normal because you're having trouble breathing and because you've got an infection.

Please go and see the midwife tomorrow, it may well be fine, but possible pre-eclampsia should always be taken seriously.

Personally I would be wary of trusting the pharmacy's BP reading as only certain BP automatic monitors are calibrated for use in pregnancy- and the manual ones do need a lot of expertise to get reliable results. Saying that I do really hope their reading was right and when you see the GP/midwife tomorrow it will bring good news.

But...like Daisymoo said BP can become "labile" in early PE, i.e. go up & down a lot, before heading on an upwards trend that requires management/intervention. So I would still be very careful in monitoring your symptoms and I hope your midwife keeps a very close eye on you too, never worry about bothering them as PE is so serious they would want to know anything that might lead to a diagnosis.

Let us know how you get on tomorrow, thinking of you x

Hello

I have been to the midwife, & my bp was fine (she did it the old fashioned way) 130/80.
Urine was NAD & all else ok... she just said it must have been a blip & that it was the infection that may have caused it to be high?
So it seems all is ok.. I do still feel rubbish, but that must be the infection.
The baby was Transverse..
is this ok at 31 weeks?? she said I have probably coughed her into that position!!!???!!!

Glad your BP seems to be better, though have they suggested getting it checked again soon just to be sure, as it is up comparatively from your normal 70 diastolic? Just best to keep an eye on symptoms to be sure in my non-medical and probably completely biased-by-experience opinion!

Hope your chest infection gets better v soon, rest as much as you can (also have found steaming myself in the bathroom good for helping to keep stuff moving in my lungs...). Have no idea about coughing the baby into transverse, but you still have lots of time for him/her to turn head down so I wouldn't add that to your worries!

Good luck, hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well x