BP and Adrenaline

[seventhgate]

Can someone explain in detail how adrenaline and stress cause high blood pressure and what effect this has on the heart and how I have developed LVH.

[lettingoffsteam]

I have lvh due to high blood pressure.The heart is a muscle and the increased pressure works the heart harder.Now if you work a muscle it gets bigger.That's true of the heart as well as the legs, arms etc. so the heart muscle of the ventricle which pushes the blood out of the heart gets thicker and that is lvh. Stress causes us to produce more of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.Adrenaline raises blood pressure which increases blood flow so that we can run away faster if under threat.Now if that response happens too frequently and for two long a duration due to enduring stress our bp becomes stuck on high and we develop hypertension and ultimately we may develop lvh.

My cardiologist told me that keeping my blood pressure low through medication should stabilise my lvh.I've had well medicated bp for over a year now so hopefully it has.It's not a great diagnosis to have and it freaked me out but it can be managed.By the way I'm on amlodipine and it works well.

What's your bp story?

[seventhgate in reply to lettingoffsteam]

Thanks for the reply it has helped give me a better understanding of my condition. I have just started this morning on Amlodipine at 5mg. I will have to supply my BP readings after being on it for 2 weeks to see if it has went down. I have had high BP in the past but have brought it down through lifestyle changes and exercise. The diagnosis also freaked me out as any little niggle in the heart area is me thinking its the LVH and that I may have a heart attack.

[lettingoffsteam in reply to seventhgate]

If your lvh is mild you shouldn't feel anything.I do get arrhythmias which are common with lvh but these are mild too.I take propanolol for that.If you get any chest pain mention it to the GP.

LVH is a scary diagnosis, especially if you google it but both the cardiologist and GP have tried to reassure me that it's mild at present. Of course more severe lvh is symptomatic but if your bp is kept down that should keep it down.It's good that you've considered lifestyle and exercise as that is the other way to slow lvh.I hope the amlodipine does the trick.😀