Serious blood pressure issues at 22 years old, otherwise healthy

[MyNameIsJack]

Hi all,

I am a 22 year old male suffering from hypertension and I am really confused by it, doctors have not been much help as of yet and I am really quite scared.

My blood pressure is about 160/70, I measure it quite regularly on an at home monitor. For some reason my systolic is extremely high but my diastolic remains quite normal. I just don't understand why my body is doing this, I am just going to put details about me below and I am hoping that someone might be able to provide me with advice with respect to a possible underlying health condition or a way to help.

My lifestyle: I live what I think of as a very healthy life style, I exercise by lifting weights daily and I also go for runs occasionally, I am very fit and have low body fat. I eat a healthy high protein diet with lots of nutrients all though I do have a bit of a sweet tooth and eat a fair amount of chocolate. I barely drink (maybe a few beers a month on average), I don't smoke apart from maybe a few socially every few months.

My doctor put me on high blood pressure medication (Telmisartan 40mg daily) and I have not seen it have any effect on my blood pressure

Other health issues: I have a few other health issues that I have been having and I am unsure if they are effects of my blood pressure or causing it or completely unrelated. I am quite sleepy a lot of the time, I feel like I need a nap almost every afternoon but I don't let my self have them because if I do it will usually last for a couple of hours and I typically need 10-12 hours of sleep a night. I have also been having erection problems and I am so ashamed by them because I am so young, I am fairly new to sex and I am a really anxious person and I can't tell if the problems are psychological or physical but it is causing me so much stress.

Other risk factors: My father has high blood pressure (although still not as high as mine), but he is almost 60, has been a lifetime pack a day smoker, drinks regularly and was overweight for a lot of his life. My mother has perfect blood pressure but she does have thyroid disease and so do all her siblings as well as her mother, she treats it by taking thyroxin. When they test my thyroid hormone levels they have always come back as being in the normal range.

I really appreciate any advice, I am really scared and I just want to find out what is wrong with me, I don't want to die young and I don't want to be haunted by the other health issues that often come with high blood pressure.

[Ropa511]

Hi Jack,

First thing I would say that whilst your systolic at 160 is a bit high, your diastolic at 70 is actually very good

I am also wondering if anxiety is causing your high blood pressure???? Have you tried measuring your bp at home when you have been sitting quietly for 5 minutes??? This is generally a far better indicator of your actual blood pressure than what it may be at the GPs surgery.

Its great that you have an active lifestyle, but perhaps have another look at your diet.....there is so much food that you may think is healthy, but is actually not....and switching your habits to healthy eating is an ongoing journey.

In particular avoid ready meals, take aways, and restaurants as this food is loaded with saturated fat, salt, and sugar which you want to try and avoid.

Ask your GP if you can see a Dietician, or alternatively invest in one yourself.

Also look into building mindfulness, meditation and yoga in to your exercise habits as well as exercise that actually gets your heart pumping a bit.

So in short I really think that you have your whole life ahead of you, and 22 is way way too young to go on to BP drugs unless you are totally sure that you actually have Hypertension and that you have tried to build in all the lifestyle modifications into your daily routine which can in itself have quite a big affect on blood pressure readings.

Also your 160 reading whilst a concern is not actually dangerously high in the general scheme of things, and is NOT going to put you in danger of a cardiovascular event at your age.

So I would go back to your GP, ask to go off meds, and request to have 24 hour monitoring and/or one week of home readings.

If it is still high then ask for 6 months to a year to work on improving your diet and lifestyle, and also discuss if anxiety (which many of us are feeling right now) may be a factor.

Once again definitely try and keep off bp medication for the next 20/30 years as its not a magic bullet, and you do NOT want to be dealing with the side effects that many of these meds cause at your age.

Sorry for rambling on but hope you find my advice helpful.

If you can, please do come back on here and let us know how you get on.

Good luck!❤️

[springcross in reply to Ropa511]

I think this is an excellent post Ropa511, very well done. x

[Happyrosie]

I’ve just read your post, and also the very full reply that Ropa511 gave. Thank you for being so frank, so that we can know what you are going through.

I endorse everything that Ropa says, and would add:

You say you eat a lot of protein. I read some research which indicated that a lot of young men eat too much protein. Your kidneys could be a little overloaded perhaps?

If you haven’t already, look up Eating Well on the NHS website. Be very careful of the salt in your diet - even bread has some.

The other thing is the blood pressure monitor. Are you measuring at home? If you are, always sit quietly for at least five minutes and preferably ask someone else to do it for you and write down the result without you seeing it - if you don’t see it you might be less anxious, DONT talk while it’s being done, that alone will raise the pressure by five or ten points.

I wish you well, do let us know how you get on.

[springcross in reply to Happyrosie]

Another really good post Happyrosie. Very well said. x

[springcross]

Hi MyNameIsJack. I don't think there is anything more to add to the first two posts on here, you have been given some excellent advice and I wish you well.

[Spamt]

Only a few other bits as previous posts are spot on... Make sure you've been to the loo before testing as that can make the figure higher. Also, don't cross your legs, keep your feet on the floor and make sure you have the arm cuff in the right place. I had problems testing as I was so anxious about the results, it sent the figure higher before i even started... Maybe do get someone else to note down the figures, but only take the readings after five mins of sitting down quietly. Dont talk or interact, maybe even close your eyes. If you suspect anxiety is still showing in the result, get them to take three readings each at least one minute apart without you looking... Then take the average. A pharmacist did taught me that once and it really helped...

[Inspiration25]

I could understand you are afraid but I would like to encourage you to read a book called healing hypertension. In my opinion, I know being anxiousness causes blood pressure to rise however, everyone body is different. You pre exposed to hypertension because of your father however get a 24 blood pressure monitor to see what your b/p is while you are sleeping. There is always room for healing I believe that 🙏 works plus not being anxious and do not drink.

[Hidden]

Hi Jack, have you had your B12 levels checked lately?

[Clough in reply to Hidden]

Hello while this isn’t a reply your reply got me interested . I developed high blood pressure in pregnancy that then never seemed to go away and so I was put on blood pressure meds . I notice my blood pressure goes up at about the tome of my period each month and have felt that the blood pressure of itself is only a symptom and is driven more by hormones , but I have never been able to prove this . I have also seen and increased heart rate when at rest even though I am health eat healthy . I have also read that vitamin deficiency can present some of these symptoms . So I was interested in your mention of B-12. Do you have any information about that and links to blood pressure ?

[Hidden in reply to Clough]

Hi, I've suffered with high BP since my mid 20's even though I have always been a runner. Was always kept under control with meds. Then, suddenly Doctor couldn't get it under control, more meds were added in. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with B12 deficiency. As soon as I was treated for that with injections, my BP stabilised again and four years later, I'm still on minimal meds for it. I hear you re hormones, I had early menopause at age 36 (51 now) and so many things got better for me - no more migraines! I also got pre-eclampsia with my twins aged 35 but things soon settled afterwards. For me, there was a definite link between my B12 deficiency and my high blood pressure. I asked Jack because his symptoms are similar to mine before B12 diagnosis. Hope that helps 😊

[chaosqueen]

Do you have headaches?? If so these may need investigating. Anxiety is a massive cause of hypertension though as your diastolic is normal there may not be much of a problem. Hope you don't take steroids to build muscle!! Try not to let worrying about high BP become a self fulfilling prophecy. Other causes are kidney problems and a very rare disorder of the adrenal glands called phaochromocytoma but there are usually other issues too. Good luck. Please do not be tempted to agree to taking statins - awful drugs.