56 year old male, overweight, had somewhat elevated BP in the 145/85 for years, just recently it made a quick jump up to the 165/95 range (and popped up to 185/103 at one point). Is it normal for it to jump quite quickly like that?
NHS are giving me 5mg Amlodipine, but the Dr said it was just artery hardening with age, but if that was the case I would have expected a more gradual increase rather than this quick jump?
For you old lags on the BP issue, any suggestions on what I should be doing from your experience? (I am also on the thyroid boards after thyroid cancer 13 years ago and find the experience of posters, myself included, highly valuable).
Many thanks
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Transalp
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From 145 to 165 isn’t all that much - you might have been a bit dehydrated, or didn’t have the same amount of rest before the measurement was taken, or something on those lines.
A good source of info is Blood Pressure UK, the charity.
You ask what you should be doing, and the website gives guidance. Tweak your diet, look at your exercise and think how to increase it gradually for instance. If you don’t have one, you might consider buying a bp machine and take your pressures say once a month, always after ten minutes rest, at a similar time of day, discarding the first reading and taking the average of the next two. Keep a record for your gp.
If your arteries are hardened to the point your BP is 185/103 at 56, you probably won't see 70. You need to alter your diet ASAP and get that BP down. The damage to internal organs and risk of stroke are nearly 100% with that BP. Are you on a statin? I certainly hope so. Diet and exercise, along with getting that BP under control is paramount.
Yeah... that's not research my friend. The research is pretty definitive for people with cardiovascular disease...get on a statin to help prevent strokes.
I think that's just the Dr's guess - it was consistently in the sub-145 for years and then jumped straight up to the 165 over a period of a month or two.
It's your guess that it's the Dr's guess. The Dr has clinical experience. Regardless, years of elevated BP reeks havoc on the cardiovascular system. The OP should get 2D Doppler of the Heart performed along with a CT Cardiac scan to confirm the Dr's clinical diagnosis.
I was there, the Dr was the usual NHS Doc with no time to consider if the jump from sub-145 up to 165 was a secondary hypertension issue or primary, in the ten minutes just reached for the prescription pad for calcium antagonist.
I will look into the 2D doppler and CT Cardiac scan in the private sector.
Sorry...I didn't realize you were the OP.I guess he suspects that you have hardening of the arteries from years of elevated BP. That's a SE of elevated BP.
If you can only get one, I would get the CT Cardiac Scan. It's cheap and will tell you how much calcium has accumulated in the arteries around the heart. The 2D Doppler shows conditions of the heart valves and chambers.
I'd also start a plant based diet and exercise regiment. Overtime, this has shown the ability to reverse cardiovascular disease.
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