[highbpguy]

Hi,

I like to start off by saying I've been dealing with health anxiety and OCD since I was a teenager. I am 32 now. I've been with my doctor for over 6 years, she's great and very understanding -- always reassuring me that I am healthy. I went to ER for different reasons and EKG always normal.

I've been seeing therapist for over 2 years now and have been taking xanax. Which helped me gain weight from 150 to 170 in 2 years. I've always had poor diet consisting of fast food, soda, snacks, fatty foods, etc...The xanax helped me relax and stimulate my appetite, thus eating more than ever. Before I was always too nervous to eat.

Sorry for rant, but my question is having a 140/83 blood pressure when lipids, diabetes, thyroid, kindey, liver test are all negative a sign of possible heart attack in near future?

This morning, my new nurse was this cute attractive lady and I got extremely nervous. My BP test was 140/93, second was 139 and 20 minutes later it was 139. My doc did not seem concern with this. She gave me pamphelt about reducing salt intake and asked me to come back for recheck in 2 weeks. I do not want to label this as white coat syndrome because I've been tested at docs many times.

Now my concern is that I will drop dead of heart attack. I have no symptoms of heart disease whatsoever or family history of heart issues. I feel fine, even though I do no cardio or exercising.

Here are my blood pressure results throughout the years, yuo can see the increase from when I was only 150lbs til now. I hated being skinnny at 6'0 and only 152, so I was happy to get to 170.

Are these numbers concerning or showing a trend to hypertension? In my mind, I feel there is no way to fix this and I am headed to some serious problem.s

Weight at 170lbs with no muscle definition
1/26/2015
140/83

10/13/2014 8:40 AM
125/73

10/8/2014 3:10 PM
125/76

9/23/2014 9:40 AM
130/78

7/7/2014 9:00 AM
115/73

7/1/2014 10:00 AM
137/83

2/20/2014 2:50 PM
132/72

Weight 152 lb (68.947 kg)

7/9/2013 9:20 AM
105/60

110/62
6/3/2013 1:50 PM

103/65

4/26/2013 10:00 AM
117/74

4/18/2013 2:50 PM
109/60

4/9/2013 4:10 PM
115/72

2/23/2009 4:00 PM
109/71

4/22/2009 2:50 PM
121/70

11/4/2008 7:30 PM
124/72

[sideblinded]

Hey highbpguy

First Welcome to PC. I am no physician but I was a respiratory therapist and I was in nursing school for two years. First, your doctor isn't alarmed so that is good. Your blood pressures are good. Your systolic measures are the ones over your bottom ones (diastolic measures) 120/80 is considered textbook good. It is when your diastolic measures (bottom ones) are 90 and above that doctors get alarmed. You don't have any. Your diet can make your BP go down even further by cutting out so many foods. Eat more fruits, vegetables and grains. Leave out most fatty foods as they increase cholesterol. Start doing some exercise and that will tone your heart muscles. Right now you don't seem to have a high risk for a heart attack but some lifestyle changes wouldn't hurt.

Hope this helps.

[Nammu]

If you are worried, I'm not saying it's a problem, only that you are worried about it, then the thing to do is change your diet from fast food(with high salt) to healther options and out the soda.

[SnakeCharmer]

Most of your blood pressure readings are in the range that is generally accepted as really good, like 125/78. Others are edging up just a little too high. My blood pressure is just about exactly the same as yours. I gained some weight in the last year or so and my blood pressure began creeping up from its normal 90/60.

My doctor and I talked about this quite a bit. He's not worried that I'll keel over of a heart attack anytime soon. But if my blood pressure keeps creeping up and staying in the 140/83 range or going higher, he says that in the long-run over a course of years, it's not good and I should do something to bring it down about 10 points from 140/83, just to be on the safe side.

But like you, very few of my readings ever get that high. 125/75 is probably my average right now. No worries at that level. But I'd like it a little lower, just because I don't like it when it peaks at at slightly higher number.

His first suggestion is that I lose 5-10 lbs. Your current weight is normal for your height, but if you gained that weight on xanax and junk food, most of the gain might be unhealthy fat. How's your waist measurement? If you've grown a little bit of a belly it might be a good idea to eat better so you can lose the belly and exercise more so you can gain good healthy muscle mass.

Next the doctor said I should walk 30 minutes per day or do some other similar exercise. I lift weight 3-4 times per week and although that's great exercise it's not the best for BP, so he wants me to walk at least 20 minutes on the days I lift weights. Eat less salt. Less junk, more fruits and veg and lean protein, like sidestepper suggested. I'm not normally a tense person, but he says relaxation and mediation exercises are really good, too, especially if a person is anxious.

Most of your BP readings at your higher weight are still in the healthy normal range. So are mine. If my BP is running high (for me) in the doctors office, he takes it again at the end of the appointment and it's usually dropped ten points. Our blood pressure readings change from minute to minute. Most of yours are normal, as are mine. I hate the idea of me having white coat syndrome, but the fact that my blood pressure lowers within a few minutes as I relax sort of indicates that I might. But it's never super high, just high for me.

You specifically asked:

Are these numbers concerning or showing a trend to hypertension? In my mind, I feel there is no way to fix this and I am headed to some serious problems

Your BP readings right now are not concerning. No worries. If the numbers keep creeping up and stay up consistently over time, it could be a problem, but it's not a problem right now. Most importantly, there is much people can do to bring their blood pressure down, from eating a better diet to relaxing.

Here's a link to the Mayo Clinic that gives ten ways to lower blood pressure without medication.

10 ways to control high blood pressure without medication - Mayo Clinic