Just as a matter of interest

[exDancer]

I measure my BP every morning around 10am and its usually around 130 - 140 over 80 - 90 ............ not good exactly, but not as bad as it used to be.

I went for my weekly swimming session this morning and out of interest I took my BP again when I got home (I was really tired so I thought it would be sky high).

And it was 124/84! Does this prove that exercise helps? Oh dear, am I going to have to start exerting myself?

[Dillan75]

Hello I just bought one of those B P machines as my blood pressure is nearly always high It read 190 over 79 is that terribly high I wonder, I have A F though.

[exDancer in reply to Dillan75]

Yes it IS high, but don't fret - mine often gives readings that high too and has done for several years - and I'm still alive and kicking.

I found that mine settled down after a week or 10 days, and as long as its under 140 I don't worry. If you look on American websites (which most of them are) they would be panicking over 140/90, but the UK sites don't seem to be as assertive, although they do indicate that even this is on the high side.

I have no knowledge of AF, by DIL has it, and she's a relatively young woman in her 40s, but it doesn't seem to impede on her normal life .... she does get dizzy spells sometimes but she brushes them off as of no consequence.

Sometimes I think the stress we get from our GPs makes us worse - I'm always anxious before I measure my BP, and although I don't feel it, I must be super stressed in the GPs surgery my BP can be over 200 sometimes which is why she suggested home testing.

There's a printable chart on vertex42.com/ExelTemplates which I use every morning around 10am (just before my mid morning cuppa).

[exDancer in reply to exDancer]

I should clarify that a bit - you'll get a notice saying ERROR 44 (or something) but just ignore it and scroll down. On the left hand side you'll see lists like 'calendar chart' and ' blood sugar chart' - its in that list.

[Dillan75 in reply to exDancer]

Thanks for answering me, not much good worrying about it,it will only make it worse.

[Timbobo in reply to Dillan75]

Anyone with bp that high will have af. When I was tested that high they put me in the hospital immediately. Very dangerous I can't emphasise that enough.

[exDancer]

Good thinking, I'll take that on board.

This perhaps emphasises your stress theory, - I had a bit of a row with my husband this morning all over him sneakily buying 3 packets of chocolate digestives and keeping them in his car, he's diabetic and on a strict diet which gives me real problems with his meal planning. (I only found out because he left the receipt in his shirt pocket and I nearly washed it). But my BP reading time was due after that, and it had shot up to 185/92 - so it shows that I was pretty stressed at that time I guess.

As a one-off it doesn't mean much, but interesting.

[aloisia]

Hello ex dancer: I find your entries always very interesting and honest. A blood pressure of 200 is certainly high but as you say, that so long as it is not persistent, it can be tolerated. My own BP responds likewise to stressful situations. I have very bad anxiety as a reaction to any extra demands and often I wonder if this persistent anxiety may be a side effect of the medications I take. Bisoprolol and Irbesartan. I take these two for sooo many years and no longer know what kind of person I would be if I did not have these chemicals in my blood stream all the time. From reading the prescription details, I can see that anxiety and depression can be side effects of the above two medications. Have some of the people on this site stopped the such medications and noticed that their anxiety/depression got better?

It is often said that most people do not know that they have high BP; I certainly always know when my BP is high. It is a very uncomfortable feeling and I manage mine on such occasions with relaxation and breathing exercises; it will come down from 190/90 to 165/80 . . . still very high but manageable.

thank you for any feed-back Aloisia

[exDancer in reply to aloisia]

I tried breathing exercises and do feel much better for it, and I realised I frequently tense my shoulders with out realising it (just try taking a deep breath and lowering your shoulders) which was very strange. I was doing it all the time, especially on the loo.(!)

I took bisoprolol, among other things, for years and it made me lethargic and anxious at the same time - which was weird - I was constantly on edge, but didn't want to actually move from my chair. And my weight soared.