Blood pressure/anxiety concerns

[GibberingMaw]

Hello all I am 27, 360 and 5'11" I was rushed to the ER a few days ago because of hot flashes,chest pain,arm hurting etc. They did two EKGs,X-Ray,Bloodtests(of all sorts),reflexes etc. The only thing they saw was of concern was that I have an occasional extra heartbeat and they said my blood pressure was high. (Was getting around 160/105) At the highest point. I told them I have anxiety but they still said I need blood pressure medication. I have not taken it yet, in fear that I do not need it because it is my anxiety causing the blood pressure spikes. (I have really bad anxiety to where I can not function without medication.) I have become obsessed with high blood pressure but I get anxious when using a blood pressure cuff and it is always high.

What do I do? Do I really have high BP? or is it just my anxiety?


Please help, I really feel overwhelmed and anxious.

[gypsylee]

Hello all I am 27, 360 and 5'11" I was rushed to the ER a few days ago because of hot flashes,chest pain,arm hurting etc. They did two EKGs,X-Ray,Bloodtests(of all sorts),reflexes etc. The only thing they saw was of concern was that I have an occasional extra heartbeat and they said my blood pressure was high. (Was getting around 160/105) At the highest point. I told them I have anxiety but they still said I need blood pressure medication. I have not taken it yet, in fear that I do not need it because it is my anxiety causing the blood pressure spikes. (I have really bad anxiety to where I can not function without medication.) I have become obsessed with high blood pressure but I get anxious when using a blood pressure cuff and it is always high.

What do I do? Do I really have high BP? or is it just my anxiety?

Please help, I really feel overwhelmed and anxious.

Hi there :)

What do you mean 360? Pounds? That sounds like a lot (we use kilos so I'm not sure).

Anxiety doesn't consistently elevate BP like that I don't think. Otherwise my BP would have been off the scale and it's always been ok. So I think you should take the medication.

You should also do some deep breathing.

All the best,
Gypsy x

[Goomba]

Buy a blood pressure machine and monitor it.

[raggamuffin]

^ Careful with BP machines. They can become an addictive and self destructive habit. A lot of pharmacies offer BP checks. Have it checked once a week for 2 or 3 weeks to get a better understanding of your BP. Being at a hospital with severe panic attacks is obviously going to read an elevated BP.

Look at your diet and cut out processed foods and look at consuming plenty of alkaline based foods. Google alkaline diet for some ideas. Next do some exercise and make sure you stay hydrated. Slicing a whole lemon or lime and put it in a pitcher of water and drink throughout the day. Good vitamin C and other health benefits.

Finally read into anxiety and understand how it can affect you physically. Read about the fight or flight response and Google "changing core beliefs". I went to ER with the same symptoms when anxiety was first hitting me with physical symptoms. This was 5 years ago and I wish I'd set about tackling my anxiety much sooner. Don't allow yourself to become entrenched in fear and panic about physical symptoms, anxiety can cause any symptom imaginable, including making our BP fluctuate.

Ed

[Jmillhimes]

Buy a blood pressure machine and monitor it.
I can relate to this 100%! Let me start by saying a year ago I was 6'0 and 289 lbs at 35! Today I'm 263! My bp has always had issues and as noted above, I had anxiety 5 years ago and never bought into it! I had chest pains and issues with crowds and I thought I'll get through it! Well fast foward to last year when I was drinking everyday so I could go out in public and I actually had a health scare!!i had a techicardia attack in which my heart started speeding at 200bpm! After that i was a mess! I'm now on meds for my heart! It's either that or surgery and the meds are beta blockers which also I heard help with attacks! To shorten this, my cardiologist yanked me cold turkey style off my citalpram and boy did I pay ! After 2 months of battling I went back on it and the key was I became a bp monitor fanatic! I checked my bp with a home machine every hour!! Dude I wil tell you, every attack I get results in 170/100bp! Bp is not medically considered high unless it's consistately high at all times! You could by a machine but you may become obsessed! I agree with ragamuffin, check it at different times using machines in places first! Check it everytime you go out or so! If your in usa, Walgreens and cvs have them so go there and check! Don't freak on bp meds if you need them, there a life saving med with low side effects! My cardiologist of all
People is the one who told me not to panic about bp cause it's gonna rise with attacks! The key is you know this so don't monitor it during attacks! I panicked more and more on this and it drove me crazy to where so checked every 10 minutes while on attacks! Work out more often and eat healthier!

[Goomba]

I would be lieing if I said I didn't fall prey to the constant need to monitor myself at one point too. My mom has heart issues, so she had all the fancy gadgets.

You guys bring up a fair point. Doing it at stores is not a bad idea. For me, however, every time I went to the Dr. or the store I was anxious, and couldn't get an accurate reading.

At home I at least had times when my anxiety was minimal, especially right after I woke up. A few good readings of that and I was able to eventually fall out my habit of needing to check it all the time.

[ParanoidPenny]

This is exactly what rabbit hole I am in now. I am CONSTANTLY checking my bp due to it being high at the ER last week. I finally got on BP meds through my regular doctor after I told him it's been consistently high. But I get anxious EVERY time I put it on. I don't ant to stop checking though, what if it is a REAL problem and not just my stupid anxiety.

[Kirk]

Many people get anxious when they check their BP. I would check it less, as the more you check it, the more anxious you become. Blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day and night anyway. I would stay away from caffeine, exercise moderately, get plenty of sleep, keep your weight as normal as possible, drink plenty of water, eat fruits and vegetables and drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. This will all help and bring more peace of mine as you will know you are doing all you can to improve your BP and overall health.