Blood Pressure, too high?

Question

I saw my doctor last week, he took my BP and said it was 155/95. I've got to go back after 4 weeks to get checked again, have been really stressed recently, is this too high, is stress the likely cause and can it do any damage?

Answer 1

Stress can increase your blood pressure and over time yes it can cause health problems - if you suffer from high blood pressure a lot then you will be given medication to stabilise it - in the long term it can cause heart problems. If it is a one off then you will be fine you just need to learn to stay as calm as possible and not get too stressed - a little stress is good but not all the time

Answer 2

Blood pressure measurements don't count for anything if you've been walking around. Ideally, you should be sitting down for at least 5 minutes or so. Blood pressure also can vary during the day, so it's best to get measurements from similar times during the day. No caffeine in the morning either. These measurements should be repeated on a few separate occasions. Some people get "white coat hypertension" when they go to the doctor's office because they are nervous. Probably blood pressure medicines wouldn't kill you. But you don't necessarily need blood pressure medicines if your blood pressure is only high while active. When doctors study the effects of high blood pressure, they study the effects of people who are diagnosed with it as described above. You are probably at no higher cardiac risk from your blood pressure.

Answer 3

It is too high...now how far too high depends on if you have diabetes, heart disease, or kidney problems. In general a goal BP is 120/80. Stress can cause some of this but not to this extent. Other possibilities are white coat hypertension which is when you have normal blood pressure but if you get it checked at your docs it is high because of stress. It's rare but it occurs. Most likely you just have plain old high blood pressure. A low salt diet and activity can help some people and is the first recommendation for high blood pressure treatment.

Answer 4

That is rather high, but obviously your doctor will be monitoring it now. Stress can raise it, even being in the presence of a doctor can raise it - so called White Coat Syndrome.
Dont worry too much though it can be treated with medication and/or change in lifestyle and the earlier its caught the less likely it is to cause any other health problems.

Answer 5

its not good to be so high darling but the doc will monitor it and may put you on blood pressure tablets i went to the docs around 4 5 years ago for something he took my blood pressure found out it was high run a few routine test and it turned out i had tto go on blood pressure tablets i every morning been on them ever since and probably be on them for life i was in my late 20s it can also be hereditary as it is in are family don't panic darling the doc Will sort it a lot of ppl seem to have it now days but as i say if it turns out that you have high blood pressure the tablets will sort it let me no how you get on xx

Answer 6

The heart is a pump designed to force blood through our body. Blood is pumped from the heart through the arteries out to our muscles and organs.

Pumps work by generating pressure. Put simply, too much pressure puts a strain on the arteries and on the heart itself. This can cause an artery to rupture or the heart to fail under the strain - in the worst case stopping altogether.

Blood pressure depends on a combination of two factors:
how forcefully the heart pumps blood around the body
how narrowed or relaxed your arteries are.
Hypertension occurs when blood is forced through the arteries at an increased pressure.
Around 10 million people in the UK have high blood pressure - that's one in five of us.

What is normal blood pressure?

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers. An example of this could be 'the blood pressure is 120 over 80', which is written as '120/80mmHg'.

The first figure is the systolic blood pressure - the maximum pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts (beats) and pushes blood out into the body.

The second figure is the diastolic blood pressure. This is the minimum pressure in the arteries between beats when the heart relaxes to fill with blood.

Because the height of a mercury column is used in blood pressure gauges, standard blood pressure readings are always written as so many ‘millimetres of mercury’, which is abbreviated to ‘mmHg’.

The systolic pressure is always listed first, then the diastolic pressure. A typical normal blood pressure reading would be 120/80 mmHg.

What's classed as high?

There is a natural tendency for blood pressure to rise with age due to the reduced elasticity of the arterial system. Age is therefore one of the factors that needs to be taken into account in deciding whether a person's blood pressure is too high.

In general terms, people with a systolic blood pressure consistently above 160mmHg and/or a diastolic pressure over 100mmHg need treatment to lower their blood pressure.

People with slightly lower blood pressures (140-159mmHg systolic or 90-99mmHg diastolic) may also need treatment if they have a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease, eg stroke or angina (chest pains).

What are the symptoms?

One of the big problems with high blood pressure is that it hardly ever causes symptoms.

This means it may go unnoticed until it causes one of its later complications such as a stroke or heart attack.

Despite the popularity of such ideas, nosebleeds and ruddy complexions are hardly ever caused by high blood pressure.

Severe hypertension can cause symptoms such as:
headache
sleepiness
confusion
coma.

What complications are caused by high blood pressure?

Atherosclerosis: narrowing of the arteries.
Stroke: haemorrhage or blood clot in the brain.
Aneurysm: dangerous expansion of the main artery either in the chest or the abdomen, which becomes weakened and may rupture.
Heart attack.
Heart failure: reduced pumping ability.
Kidney failure.
Eye damage.

What causes hypertension?

For more than 90 per cent of people with high blood pressure, the cause is unknown. This is called 'primary' or 'essential hypertension'.

In the remaining 10 per cent or so, there is an underlying cause. This is called 'secondary hypertension'.

Some of the main causes for secondary hypertension are:
chronic kidney diseases
diseases in the arteries supplying the kidneys
chronic alcohol abuse
hormonal disturbances
endocrine tumours.
What factors increase the risk of hypertension?

Anyone can suffer from high blood pressure, but certain factors can seriously aggravate hypertension and increase the risk of complications:

a tendency in the family to suffer hypertension
obesity
smoking
diabetes Type 1 or Type 2
kidney diseases
high alcohol intake
excessive salt intake
lack of exercise
certain medicines, such as steroids.

Answer 7

I took mine last night as I have a kit and it was 165,it's only serious if it gets into the 220, it's due to either poor diet or stress. Try looking at your rountine or diet.

Answer 8

Yes, your blood pressure is high. Stress can be a contributor as well as diet and many other factors.

Answer 9

That is way to high. Not being funny or anything but you are increasing your chances of having a heart attack or a stroke. It should be approx 125/70 Good luck.

Answer 10

though some research see stress can contribute in high blood pressure but its not the main reason your having high blood. there must be underlying cause on it like heridity, kidney condition to name a few but better to consult your gp about your blood pressure.