Hypertension with arrhythmia.

[heller29]

Anyone having this experience? When my arrhythmia returns my Blood pressure increases.

[Mrspat]

I have persistent AF and am mildly hypertensive.

[Jong1945]

Yes, very possible. 1. you will probably be more worried/stressed hence BP goes up, 2. auto-sensing BP machines are not very good at detecting the upper and lower BP points when you are not in rhythm, so may not be accurate. I certainly find my BP is 10 or 15 pts higher when I am in AF or havign many ectopics, even though I'm pretty experienced with it all by now and I think it's the machine, rather than me being necessarily all those points higher

[BobD Volunteer]

We are all different and some people say the opposite but it was always that way with me, My engineer's reasoning was that BP rose to offset reduced flow resulting from the arrghythmia.

[Hidden]

I have paf very infrequently. When my a fib starts up, my blood pressure gets crazy high, like 200/110 range. By the time my meds kick in( flecainide and metoprolol) plus I pee my brains out while in a fib... my bp gets low like 80/50. I try to drink alot of water plus things with electrolytes while in a fib to off set the urinating part. One time I weighed myself when it was starting and 4 hours later when it quit and I urinated off 4 lb. Too bad it wasnt fat!!!! TMI right😉

[Buffafly in reply to Hidden]

😁

[Buffafly in reply to Hidden]

Funny thing, last time I had AF I didn't have the waterfall effect even though my BPM went very high at times, wondering if it is the Diltiazem?

[Buffafly]

Yes mine does, though not sure that my BP monitor is accurate in AF.

[Hidden in reply to Buffafly]

yeah, if Im in " hard" af, my bp and pulse dont show up. I have a stethescope from my nursing days but its sometimes even hard to count.

[Hidden]

My BP tends to be high but is under control and is often 120/60. It tends to drop, especially the diastolic, when I have AF. The only time I have been ambulanced to hospital I was back in sinus rhythm when we arrived but had quite low BP. I don't know what it was but when it got up to 105/50 they thought about letting me go home, rang my GP who told them it wasn't normal for me and I was kept in.

[Hidden]

Don’t forget that blood pressure monitors do not provide accurate blood pressure readings for anyone in AF. Generally medics suggest that it should be taken at least 4 times over a 20 minute period and even the average of the four should only be taken as a guide. The only accurate method is to use the old fashioned glass tube and mercury monitor with the rubber pump and stethoscope (can never remember the name) but these are no longer used in the NHS due to the risks associated with mercury. Ironically, the last speaker at our Support Group meeting said that there is no evidence of anyone having been exposed to mercury poisoning due to the use of this type of monitor!! However, this does explain why many people experience significant differences in readings when in or out of AF.......

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

If you could remember the name, you might still have trouble spelling it.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Wot...Sphygmomanometer..oh ye of little faith.....😉😂👍

[Enjoy in reply to Hidden]

I believe they were only accurate if the operator had good hearing!!

[Hidden in reply to Enjoy]

Yes, my GP many years ago had to retire because he had tinnitus and hearing difficulties so being unable to take blood pressure was one of his problems.

[pottypete1]

My blood pressure definitely increases the moment I realise I am having an AF episode. I am not sure if it is the direct effect of the AF or just because my subconscious goes into panic mode.

Pete

[Hidden]

Yes always if I go into AF my blood pressure shoots up, to it was 260/125 the last time nearly broke the ambulance monitor. I have always had labile hypertension so it goes up and down all over the place.

[Ianc2]

after an exciting time when my arm went blue then purple as the electronic machine kept on pumping up the cuff as my BP went higher and higher and the pressure recordings got up to 240/160 I called time on the process.

My cardiologist looked at the reading , laughed and agreed that I would have my BP checked manually in future and he would put it in my notes. The dodgy part of the whole process is that you will be prescribed medication on the basis of these measurements by your GP. Using the traditional measurements it came out at 140/80.

[Hidden]

Absolutely , if they can ever get a reading when I am in AF and the BP cuff doesn't explode.

I'm usually around 190/110 when in AF!!

[Goldfish7]

Hi, I seem to get the opposite. I get PAF attacks that are pretty violent and feel as if my blood pressure drops significantly during them as I become very faint and cold and seem to need to urinate frequently. My rate is fast and the rhythm is so dramatically all over the place that my BP monitor cant get a reading and most of the A&E machines appear to struggle. The few readings that have been possible in hospital have shown that my BP drops significantly during an attack I think around 70 over 50ish. I do tend to suffer from low blood pressure for anything from a day or two up to around a week with low BP and feeling faint after attacks. I think we may all be affected differently which seems to be the way things are with AF.

[cuore]

Before my first ablation and in persistent AF, my blood pressure was quite high. Now after my second ablation, when I go into Af, my blood pressure drops. Back in sinus, now, my blood pressure went up. Different effect pre and post ablation. Different drugs did play a part in this vacillation; it couldn't have been just my body.