Cionsistent extreme high Blood Pressure.

[Vindicatrix]

Hi All, my friend, has been suffering from BP of 200 plus for many years. All the Medics he has seen, have no cure for it, and seem to accept, as liveable.

He has had 4 minor heart attacks, however Medics cannot even come to the same conclusion on that.

Is there a named condition for this?, I seem to remember from an article I read years ago, that there may be.

Any views or information would be very much appreciated.

All the best Ron

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

So what have they tried so far? Is your friend of normal weight, does he exercise (if capable), does he eat healthily, does he avoid salt? All these can affect BP before medication is added.

[Vindicatrix in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks Michael that was very helpful, and I'll pass it on..

Regards Ron.

[devonian186 in reply to Vindicatrix]

Ron Those things are very basic. Surely his GP has advised him on those things and more? If not he needs to change his GP

[Tos92]

Hi  Vindicatrix

I’m sorry to hear about your friend.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension can be managed through medication to keep it low. Beta blockers and calcium channel blockers are a few that are used to treat high blood pressure, including some lifestyle changes.

How were your friend’s heart attacks diagnosed? Usually, ECGs, blood tests, more commonly Troponin, and an angiogram are performed to diagnose if a heart attack has taken place.

nhs.uk/conditions/heart-att...

There are different types of heart attacks. The most common is a STEMI (st-elevation myocardial infarction) and NSTEMI (non-st elevation myocardial infarction).

There is also something called a MINOCA (myocardial infarction in non-obstructed coronary arteries). This is when there are no significant blockages however, coronary artery spasms, small blood vessel disease, and subtle plaque build up may contribute to the heart getting less oxygen. I had a MINCOA last year after having a coronary artery spasm which triggered the heart attack. There were no obvious blockages in my arteries, but a congenital heart defect in the form of a myocardial bridge was seen spasming.

inocainternational.com/wp-c...

Perhaps discuss the above with your friend and ask them to speak to their cardiologist about it in order to be able to come to a diagnosis.

Hopefully others can come along to share their insights too.

All the best.

Tos

[Vindicatrix in reply to Tos92]

Thanks for that Tos, it was very helpful, I will pass it on to my friend.

Regards Ron.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hello,

Michael has made some important suggestions about how life style can help.

For more information see

nhs.uk/conditions/high-bloo...

There are some specialist centres treating high blood pressure in larger teaching hospitals.

Has your friend considered asking to be referred to such as centre?

There are some world leading researchers at Barts Hospital and University College Hospital London.

bartshealth.nhs.uk/news/bar...

The most common cause of heart attacks is coronary heart disease, when the blood vessels are permanently blocked by a build up of cholesterol inside the artery wall.

Only about 10% of heart attacks are thought t occur without any permanent blockages. The term Myocardial Infarction non obstructive coronary arteries MINOCA is not a diagnosis in itself as there are many possible causes of these rarer types of heart attacks.

A MINOCA can be due to Spontaneous coronary artery dissection SCAD, coronary vasospasms, microvascular dysfunction, a blood clot or small piece of plaque breaking off and blocking the artery.

Arrthymias, very high heart rate

Or a mismatch of the amount of blood the heart needs and receives.

For more information about heart attacks see the BHF and Heart Research UK websites were you'll find lots of reliable information.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

heartresearch.org.uk/nocad-...

[Vindicatrix in reply to Milkfairy]

Thanks Milkfairy, how common is Arrthymias'.

Regards Ron

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Vindicatrix]

There are actually many different types of heart attacks.The document below is a link to the 4th Universal Definition of a Myocardial Infarction.

It's written by a group of world expert Cardiologists.

See section 33 of this document. When the heart muscle doesn't receive enough blood, a lack of oxygen to the heart occurs, known as ischaemia. If the Ischaemia is prolonged then the muscle dies, a myocardial infarction

This can happen when someone has a very high heart rate or arrthymia.

My mother in law had this type of heart attack. She had atrial fibrillation with a very high heartrate.

academic.oup.com/eurheartj/...

[1234_6]

I cant comment on the heart attack issues BUT there's several types of High Blood Pressure, including...

- Isolated Systolic Hypertension

- Isolated Diastoylc Hypertension

- White Coat Hypertension

- Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 Hypertention

- Resistant hypertension

(I understood from a close family member that this later one is for difficult to control high BP, but Dr Google says it is if your doctor has prescribed three different types of antihypertensive medications and your blood pressure is still too high.)

The GP should be able to mix different medications to reduce High BP ... which will always be a constant balancing act especially if obese and whenever body weight fluctuates.

I take 4 BP meds normally... and am now on Bisroprlol for heart arrithymia, which has reduced my heart beat and currently my BP has increased ... so now i'm back to monitoring constantly this week for the GP to assess BP med change next week as the Cardiology follow up.is still months away.

[cappachina]

Hi I have a friend who has had really high blood pressure throughout her entire life and despite specialists trying everything it is never below 170/85 she is now in her her mid 80s has had major surgery 10 years ago and is still going strong Maybe in some people it's genetic.

[NealS in reply to cappachina]

i also have high bp, typically 175/90. gp and cardiologists keep trying different meds. Seems trial and error!! I also wonder if its genetic and maybe just accept it. I take reasonable exercise, at least 10k steps a day. Aquafit twice a week. Heartbeat gym weekly. Try to keep weight down. Limit salt. Tried reducing caffeine, alcohol etc. nothing works. I have no symptons, eg dizziness, headaches etc.

[Sillyfroggy]

Is your friend in the UK? I don’t know of a gp that wouldn’t prescribe meds for bp as high as that.

[Arty56]

Hi I don't understand why it hasn't reduced with the meds available. I presume he's on bisoprolol or similar and more. Does he keep to a steady healthy weight and eat healthy. Does he exercise, The docs should help and reduce it I don't no why they haven'sorted it out good luck

[whiteblackblue]

So sorry about your friend and the high blood pressure. If there is a stomach issue, a digestive issues where the nutrients from foods are not absorbed into the cells, that is a BIG problem. Most blood test will show normal levels of vitamins and minerals in the blood however it is not getting into the cells. Hugh problem because medications are not being absorbed correctly either. I know, I have this problem because of not having enough stomach, acid reflux, GERD and Gastritis…I take over the counter digestive enzymes, probiotics, Ox bile to help with digestion of fats and proteins, also The Immune Boosting Formula, which contains turmeric. I don’t take PPI because it decreases the acid levels so low the body want be able to digest foods. All of this also effects how medications work and heart health, blessings.

[whiteblackblue in reply to whiteblackblue]

I made a mistake in my typing, I mean not having enough stomach acid.