Blood Pressure 146/84. Pulse 74. Taking medication for this. Should I be concerned?

Question

I am 31 years old.

That's with medication. I had preeclampsia when I was pregnant with my daughter (she's 16 months now) and have had hypertension every since.

Just before delivery of my daughter my BP was 200/110.....no joke! I had her six weeks early via emergency c-section. I, too, was on medication for hypertension, the same that I am now, when I was pregnant.

Answer 1

Your heartrate is normal. Your BP is elevated but, not dangerously so (unless you are pregnant). If you aren't feeling poorly (headache, blurred vision ...) I wouldn't think that this is an emergency but, I would talk to your primary care provider about it. If you are on BP meds I would hope that it would be lower that that.

You should trend your blood pressures. Take it a couple of times a day for a few days to see where it sits on average. Many things affect your BP (stress, pain, illness ...) at any given time, that's why charted BPs are more helpful for your health care provider to see what is going on. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Your blood pressure should be 120/80 to be considered healthy.
If your blood pressure is 146/84 while you are on the medication, then I can only imagine what it must have been when you weren't.
If you were just given the prescription because you just found out that your BP is 146/84, I would think that your doctor chose to medicate you for it even though it isn't very high because you have other signs of health issues that may continue to increase your BP (being overweight, smoking, high level of stress, etc.)
If none of the above seem to be the case - just ask your doctor why he/she feels you should be on medication instead of maybe changing your diet first or monitor it a little more often to see if it is always that high or if maybe you were just nervous when you went to the doctor - my blood pressure always goes up when I go to the doctor, because when you are not feeling well, you tend to run a bit of a high BP.

Answer 3

Is that before the medication, or while you are on the medication?

If your blood pressure was very high, you could have essential hypertension, but I do hope your doctor examined your adrenal glands and renal arteries. Both are sources of otherwise unexplained hypertension, particularly in young people.

It is in the high normal range now. What meds are you on?

Answer 4

Normal BP
Systolic less than 130, Diastolic, less than 85
High Normal BP
Systolic , 130-139, Diastolic, 85-89
Hypertension
Systolic more than 140, Diastolic, more than 90

Answer 5

Still borderline, but nowadays that is a greater cause for concern than previously thought.

Answer 6

Try a low sodium diet, about 2g per day.