Blood pressure obsession and anxiety

[npurple93]

Hello all

Been suffering from health anxiety for the past three years after my Dad passed away very suddenly. I'm 28 year old male, slim build, eating reasonably well and exercise mainly through a lot of walking. Before my bereavement, my blood pressure measured by my GP was 118/78.

Following a couple of hospital visits where my blood pressure was high due to very severe anxiety (I explained to the nurse at the time that my heart rate isn't usually 145bpm!), I bought a home measurement kit to check what my BP was away from the hospital setting. But I've found that I equally have surges of anxiety whenever I try to use that as well. Whenever I do a blood pressure reading on the monitor, the first reading I get is somewhere around 140/95 (not horrific, but far from ideal). I get quite tense because of my health anxiety which I can tell because my heart rate, which is normally 60-70 when sitting quickly shoots up to over 90. After a couple of readings, my BP will generally fall to around 120/90. Then if I sit with the monitor for a while and continue to take readings, it will eventually fall to somewhere around 115/85 or lower, particularly in the afternoon (even getting as low as 98/72 once). Sometimes this will happen very quickly and sometimes it will take much longer, even perhaps taking 20 minutes or so. If I go away and do something else and then come back and take another reading, I have the surge of anxiety again, it starts high and I have to bring it down again in the same way.

I don't really know what my real blood pressure is. It doesn't feel like it's the first few readings because I'm super anxious, but is it the lower ones or am I somehow cheating the test by taking it many times (although I always leave the recommended 60 seconds between measurements). One of the reasons I'm confident it's at least partially anxiety is that the more anxious I've become about it, the higher those first few readings have become, beginning to get to 150/100 in some cases, so I've had to stop using the monitor.

[Natsteveo]

I went through a stage of doing this I was obsessed too and I couldn’t sleep eat or anything in case I had a bad reading..I too have bad health anxiety mines through the roof at the minute I lost my mum too to cancer 14 years ago and I’ve been anxious about my health ever since hence I have a huge cancer phobia and also every pain I get I assume it’s the big c health anxiety is awful and takes over. Your whole entire life .. reading your bp is only feeding your anxiety best thing to do is pack it away I know it’s easier said than done because you don’t want to end up in hospital again but believe me sitting there checking it only adds to your panic I never even knew what a good reading was anyway when I had it I know it’s hard but u must try pull away from it it will only make yourself ill

[hzhang35]

It is definitely due to anxiety.

[hr1962]

yup, anxiety, no doubt!! went through that as well. DR said not going to increase bp meds, but would like to offer lexipro for anxiety! after about 8 weeks, well, he was right!! calmed my anxiety, which in turn i was able to lower bp!!