Sudden spike in blood pressure

I checked my blood pressure at about 2200 on Monday and found that it had increased from about 120/71 on Sunday to 178/91. I’ve had stressful couple of days, but this has been the highest it has been in over a year. I took it again a couple of hours later and it hadn’t improved. I take Losartan to control it. I noticed it was a bit elevated last week before I had some AF (about 140 for systolic). How concerned ought I be about this? Could there be some non-stress factor that is causing it?

[Hidden]

Hi!

BP is the parameter that doesn't deserve such a large attention as it is given to it. It changes during the day in broad limits, usually starting in the morning with lower value (140/90 in my case) and rising through the day, going towards the evening (sometimes even 170/110 in my case). If we would have the chance to make a graph of how it changes with the time, we would be surprised how many spikes and lows are there during the day, absolutely without understanding why.

BP regulation, like the HR regulation, gets poorer with the age, so no wonder that, simply because of this, there are broader limits in which BP changes.

For me, physical activity (not very hard, but something that would activate my musculoskeletal system and distract my thoughts) would usually bring the BP down, even back to morning values.

In Winter, nearly all of us spend our days sitting in front of the computer, what seems to be an "easy"work, but it is not. Prolonged concentration, and it is necessary even when reading posts at the forum, causes a "mental cramp" which inevitably leads to BP increase.

The question is, where are the dangerous limits for BP. Someone has mentioned the value of 400/200 as something that is quite possible in young people, under heavy physical load. In elderly, it is much lower. My uncle has suffered 3 strokes in a day, with BP at the level 260/170, so it was his "bursting pressure", not meaning that it is the same for all of us.

Sorry about being so long...

[Buffafly]

My GP asked me to take my BP three times a day for two weeks to get a picture of how my BP was behaving. I think this shows that a single reading doesn’t tell you much so if you think your BP is fluctuating maybe it would be a good idea to check it regularly? If you are already doing that then a graph showing changes might be helpful to your GP.

[Buffafly in reply to Buffafly]

And yes, if it continues high your GP is the person to contact.

[Hidden in reply to Buffafly]

It has fallen today to a much better level, I’m hoping it was just a blip. I spoke to a GP who said exactly what you said- to monitor daily for a week. Thanks.

[GrannyE]

I too would be interested in what causes sudden spikes in BP other than stress. Would also be interested in what people consider to be low/high in lower side of normal weight elderly women and what sort of difference between systolic and diastolic is 'safe'. I quite realise that bp varies greatly depending on the time of day. It does with me anyway.

[Hidden in reply to GrannyE]

Well, the GP said that stress is sufficient to cause a spike. She also said that if the blood pressure reverts to a normal level fairly quickly it’s not necessary to be too concerned. It’s normal for it to vary during the day. I think the best that can be done is to monitor it regularly to spot your own triggers and patterns. My blood pressure seems to be calming down and U had a reading of 132/79 an hour ago.

[bassets in reply to GrannyE]

I would be interested to find this out too.

[ling in reply to GrannyE]

For my mom, 85, current BP spikes are caused by intake of sodium. In the past, BP spikes were caused by her sick sinus syndrome bradycardia, which in turn caused arrhythmia that caused her BP to spike.

Best wishes.

[Hidden]

The task of BP regulation belongs to the Autonomous Nervous System. All the regulation happens via pressing accelerator pedal (sympathetic branch) and braking (parasympathetic branch). Increased tone of the former will give the BP with increased diastolic value (say 140/110) and increased tone of parasympathetic branch will give the opposite, increased systolic value (say 160/80). I am glad that someone else in this forum has concluded the same and has reported about it, not so long ago.

The only measure if is it good or bad for your body, is how you feel. If you feel fine, than your BP it is OK. MDs are very eager to prescribe medication, so, as soon as they succeed to catch you with increased pressure, they do it. They do not want to understand that, what matters, is actually blood flow-rate and not the BP. With the age, blood vessels get clogged and the BP MUST GO UP in the course to maintain the flow-rate. I feel best when my BP is 150/100, because at such level my brain and other tissues get sufficient nutrients to function properly.

People who take BP medication and keep BP at low level, with blood vessels clogged, have the problem to function (a friend of mine complied that, after he started taking BP medication, he feels poorly). Long term, he may suffer severe consequences, especially regarding the brain. Sorry, if I was telling you what you already know... Regards!