Jump in blood pressure

[Transalp]

Hello,

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

[Happyrosie]

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.

[MoonRocket]

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.