High Blood Pressure Concern

[bundleblocker]

My blood pressure has been very high lately. ?The highest was 193/100. Right now it is 150/90. Is it safe to exercise while we work on getting in under control? The lowest it has been is 141/70

[skydnsr]

Have you taken your blood pressure during a dizzy spell?  I've had attacks of vertigo when I had normal blood pressure.  It would seem that you need  to test whether there is an actual relationship between your high blood pressure and the dizzy spells.  

My own vertigo attacks are a type of migraine, I finally figured out.  There is no relationship betwen the vertigo and high blood pressure in my case.  I've had the dizzy spells when I had normal blood pressure, and I've had prolonged periods of extreme hypertension and never had dizziness as a symptoms.  

But extremely high (or low) blood pressure can in fact cause dizziness, so if your bp is high at the onset of a dizzy spell, then yes, there is a good chance that there is a causal relationship.  You'll have to check your blood pressure when you are symptomatic, in order to find out.  I would think it's probably best to check the blood pressure as soon as you start feeling dizzy.

As an aside, if you've ever had any type of migraines, don't rule out "silent migraine," which is a migraine attack without a headache.  But if you've never had migraines before, then I think the chance of your starting to have them at age 77 is probably pretty remote.  Good luck, and I hope your find some answers.

[bundleblocker]

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I'll def. follow them. Yesterday I had almost no dizziness.  Today it is back in full force unfortunately. My internist called for me to come and see him this coming week. I think maybe he will suggest an ENT specialist?  My cardio wants a CT scan done. I am thinking it may just be crystals colonizing in the ear, but the exercises I've done only help temporarily.  Thanks again everyone. I will keep you posted---

[skydnsr]

It will be hard for you to be anxious after exercising, so that may be your most "accurate" reading.  But for the daily readings in the morning and at 6pm, even then, a consistent trend upward or downward is meaningful.  

[skydnsr]

My cardiologist sent me to cardiac rehab at one point, purely because  of blood pressure issues.  I had severe hypertension that did not respond to medication.  The bp monitoring that I described is what the therapists did in the rehab sessions.  They took my bp before exercise, midway through the session, immediately after the session, and than again after a post-session rest period.

[bundleblocker]

Thanks, I'll do that. Right now I only take it first thing in the morning and around 6 at night. I do keep a log--

The thing is, I get so nervous when I'm about to take it. I worry that it will be high and then of course it is high, due to my anxiety.

Thanks again for your comments and suggestions--

[skydnsr]

The best I can tell you is to try not to lose all fitness, but to perhaps take it a bit easy until you and your doctor can figure out what is going on to cause the hypertension and dizzy spells.  When I was dealing with severe hypertension, the best exercise for me was walking.  I never was told by any doctor to limit walking.  

Why not start taking take your blood pressure at different intervals, such as immediately prior to exercise, in the middle of a workout, immediately after a workout and an hour after a workout.  Keep the results in a log.  Then you will be able to better identify the effect of exercise on your blood pressure.

Good luck.

[bundleblocker]

Thanks so much. I am very competitive with myself and like to do as much as possible, but I'm 77 now and find it difficult to cut back. I go to an exercise class where everyone else is in their early 50s so try to push extra hard. We don't do anything extreme, but I do try to beat everyone when powerwalking and we do weight training, but only 2 lbs (with many reps though) I guess I should cut back on all of this though and not try to get my HR up too much. I'm going to do some tests this week to figure out why I'm so dizzy along with the high BP. It may be due to a change in meds, but the cardio is concerned. Thanks for your post! PS I haven't done very much due to the dizziness. I have to be careful to not fall as I've broken both arms and a wrist while running. I also have osteoporosis. By now you are probably shaking your head, but I just want to keep fit as long as possible. I'm a former marathon runner, but just jog now--

[skydnsr]

Naturally, you should ask your doctor, but moderate exercise is generally good.  Extreme exercise that stresses the body is generally not good.  Heavy weight-lifting, in which the goal is to "max out," can be especially bad.  There's no need to be sedentary unless there is something specific going on that requires it.  Under normal circumstanes, being sedentary does not promote good health.  What most people in your situation would need to do is to maintain good overall fitness without going to extremes or over-stressing the body.  Run this advice by your physician, to get his or her input.