Hypertensive heart disease

[Tessgirl]

I have had a few health issues diagnosed in the past year and it has knocked me for six!

Very grateful that I'm being taken care of by the NHS and have various appointments for check-ups, scans and tests.

I've just had a third telephone consultation with one of the cardiologists and although it was an okay consultation he ended the call rather abruptly after I had a discussion with him about not wanting to have to go through another 24hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. I found the experience before awful, couldn't sleep had a stonking headache and a sore arm and believe it added to my blood pressure readings being raised as I was so angry, in pain and sleep deprived. He said that he wouldn't force anyone to have a procedure that they don't want (he was basing this on one reading in the clinic which was taken in the corridor with people passing me by, no wait time and with my arm just dangling - no support etc). Just to add my readings are always higher in a clinic setting whilst my readings at home are 99% of the time below 135/80.

The original cardiologist I saw and spoke with on a second occasion, explained things well, knew my case and didn't sound like she was rushing whereas todays cardiologist did. He didn't refer to my MRI which I totally forgot about until the call was over and just launched with 'so you have hypertensive heart disease' (this was the first time I had heard this) due to uncontrolled high blood pressure. I don't believe my blood pressure is uncontrolled as I have had it taken at the doctors surgery and although higher than at home not that bad.

I think I will send an email to my original cardiologist and ask for her to call me as I seemed to have received conflicting information. She encouraged me to do continue with my exercising and ensuring I keep hydrated, whilst he said I should avoid strenuous activity...

I am hoping to have bariatric surgery (weight loss) as I am severely obese and have been since my teens and now experiencing these assortment of health issues are stressing me out.

Hoping third time lucky with bariatric surgery as a couple of my issues have come to light and been diagnosed due to a unsuccessful surgery attempt in 2021. Hoping that weight loss, that will reverse the T2 diabetes, bring my blood pressure down resulting in less pressure on my heart.

Thanks for reading, needed to get this out of my head as I'm only starting to realise as I get older that stress manifests itself in ill health.

[Tos92]

Hi Tessgirl

Well it sounds like you have a plan there in terms of what you need to be doing for better and improved health for yourself.

I do hope the bariatric surgery works out for you this time around.

Please let us know how you get on and you’re welcome to vent on here when you need to.

All the best.

Tos x

[Tessgirl in reply to Tos92]

Thank you Tos, I appreciate you responding.

I didn't realise I wrote so much (definitely a rant...😆), much needed and quite cathartic 🙃

[Tos92 in reply to Tessgirl]

I hope someone with experience of hypertensive heart disease will come along to give you a more detailed response.

[Kristin1812 Heart Star in reply to Tessgirl]

Do keep posting……you've got a lot on to vent about! It must be tough, But hopefully the surgeons will persist and succeed with your bariatric surgery.

I do wonder if booking a time with your GP might be helpful, to clarify some of the confusing different comments you are getting from different Cardiologists. My GPs are pretty good at doing this.

[Gumbie_Cat]

Feel free to rant! I think that this sort of thing happens, where we get crossed wires during consultations, and then get annoyed with ourselves too for not asking the right things.

Good luck with the weight loss - it’s never as easy as it’s seems for those who haven’t needed to worry about their weight. I wondered about the new drug that has been in the news recently, though of course you might not be eligible for this or it could be contra-indicated. Could be worth asking if you haven’t done so already bbc.co.uk/news/health-64874243

[Tessgirl in reply to Gumbie_Cat]

Thanks Gumbie_Cat I felt so much better.

I've actually been on a trial for that weight loss drug in 2018 and did lose the most weight I've ever done in my life...but unfortunately once the pandemic started I slowly put it all back on and more!

Currently just trying to be active on a daily basis as it's too easy for me to stay seated as I still work from home!

[Tessgirl]

My doctors have taken readings from me over two, one week periods of AM and PM readings. I do think that if this particular cardiologist had taken a bit more time and asked me questions about the medication they recommended to my GP then he would have got a better overview of my blood pressure and resting heart rate.