Blood Pressure Crept Up

[Heythrop51]

I did my BP just now and it was 154/66. I must admit I haven't been checking regularly with Christmas, etc. going on but I started again last week and I am getting higher readings than before. The lowest was 139/58 and this morning's the highest. Should I ring GPS or give it a week? I am making a conscious effort to reduce coffee and salt as this has crypt up.

[Hidden]

I suggest you keep a record of measurements at about the same time twice a day for say a week and then take it from there. And of course don't get concerned about it when you sit down to take your BP or you will artificially elevate it. Are you already on BP meds? I am, although my systolic BP can vary between 150 to 120 without any explanation when measured on different occasions.

[Heythrop51]

Don't reply to me if I am stupid! If you read my bio you will see I was overweight and pre-diabegic. After losing weight and taking the meds all my figures were in the normal range. Just after not measuring it for a couple of months it had increased. My BP medication was actually reduced after I lost weight!

[Hidden]

hello as others have said monitor for a bit, sometimes though (what I’ve learnt from other posts on BP) monitoring itself can increase the BP. Tricky thing, I’ve started to make sure a sit for a good 5 minutes before I take it, then take two more, ignore the first and then average the other two ( I think). Blood Pressure UK has good guidance. Above all keep calm so you get a true reading. Good luck and hope you find it’s just a blip.

[Hrty in reply to Hidden]

That's pretty much how I take mine. Sometimes I'll do three after the initial one but if it's broadly the same as tye second and third I'll average all three

[Homely2]

My blood pressure creeps up on occasions. It is normally for me due to an underlying condition putting strain on my body, so I try to sort that out before talking to gp. I have asthma, so bad asthma means high blood pressure for me.

My gp likes altering meds, so I only go to him, if I cannot sort it.

[MountainGoat52]

Mine is usually an average of 125/75, but has increased to 130/78 recently. Marginal, but most likely due to the Christmas / New Year effect. No doubt we eat more salt and other "chemicals" at this time of year, hidden in the prepared foods we buy and consume. Many of us may be still finishing off those edible presents we received. Also the weather hasn't exactly been condusive to much exercise recently. 😀

I submit my BP readings to my GP practice, but avoid engaging them on the issue so they don't get the idea they can increase my medication.

[Heythrop51]

Update - Having collected a few days readings I ring the GP just before 8:00, listened to their 2 minute plus intro and pressed the option for reception (it will not let you do this until you have listened to the overly verbose intro) and was surprised to be No. 1 in the queue. The GP rang back before 10:00. He has slightly increased my ACE inhibitor but said we can always step back. I picked the prescription up yesterday and took my first 30 minutes ago!

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Heythrop51]

Exactly what I would have done!

[Heythrop51]

Had another increase in dose. Hope it settles as it has been quite erratic. Worrying about Why probably not helping!