18yr old son high blood pressure

[Worried_Mom_in_IN]

My son is 18, has gained approximately 60lbs in two years, prehypertension for just over a year. A couple of weeks ago is blood pressure shot up to 207/127 and stayed that high for over any hour before going to the ER. The first ER did nothing for an hour than retriaged him and his blood pressure was 195/111. At that time they said they still had several flu cases before him. We left and went to a different ER which took him back right away. His blood pressure went down on its own. They ran CBC, metabolic panel and chest xray. The blook test showed his lymphocytes were slightly elevated and his blood glucose was slightly elevated. His chest xray showed his lungs were hypoinflated. His blood pressure had been running around 140/80 before this episode. Two doctors don't seem to be worried. Am I being overprotective or should I be concerned something is going on? I really don't believe he is using drugs or alcohol.

[mammo]

From another mother in In, no you're not being over protective.  Something had to cause your son's symptoms, and I wouldn't stop until I had answers.  But with his weight, and glucose levels, and now this, he needs to get serious about eating right and exercising, or he is headed down a slippery slope.  Has he seen a cardiologist yet?  If not, I would make this the next step.  For BP to shoot up like that, there is something going on, and unfortunately we sometimes have to push to get results.  Good luck to you and your son.......

[grendslori]

I would certainly be looking for another doctor or cardiologist if he hasn't seen one. I would also be questioning the weight gain of 60 pounds in that period of time. Maybe checking out his thyroid function. Is he having depression issues, you might want to ask yourself that question as well. With him being 18, he is now an adult and some doctors may want to blow you off as being overprotective. Sometimes they don't get it: a mother doesn't turn off a switch when the child turns 18, some fathers might to their sons, but not the mothers. Your son needs help and if he is harboring a silent death wish he will probably accomplish that on the road he is taking. HBPs as you describe can cause Cardiomyopathies in the heart which destroys the heart, his kidneys can be destroyed due to HBP and believe me.....life on a dialysis machine 3x a week is NOT living. He could have a stroke and if that doesn't kill him, because he is of male gender, he will not fair as well in his recovery. You need to take him to another doctor and you also need to plant a few RED FLAGS under his nose and give him a few wake up calls about what he is doing to himself. These are harsh words, they could save his life.

[grendslori]

Forgot to mention: your son isn't pre-hypertensive he is hypertensive. Pre-hypertensive is a systolic in the ranges of 130-140 systolic. A reading of 140/90 is hypertension; ranges you descibed above in the 200 range is cause for admission into a hospital. I don't know of anyone who has HBP and was NOT admitted with pressures that high.  

[Worried_Mom_in_IN]

Thank you very much for your replies.

I have not taken him to a Cariologist. I have taken him to a nurse practioner and a internal medicine doctor. The nurse practioner put him on lisinopril 2.5 mg because his BP was still slightly elevated (139/83) when we saw her 5 days after ER visit. When we saw the doctor his BP was good. The doctor ran cholestrol test, tyroid test and test for Cushings, but didn't seemed concerned at all. Told my son to come back in six months.

Although weight plays a very big role in BP I am afraid his spikes could be caused by more than just weight. The reason I brought up how much weight he has gained is because I thought it may be a symptom of something going on with him. He is overweight. All doctors stressed how important losing weight is for him. He is trying to eat healthier and stay away from fast food.

I don't think he is depressed. I do think he is stressed. He is a first year college student, works part time and has a girlfriend that takes up his remaining time.

I am very disturbed that neither ER even hooked him up to heart monitors. I feel that everyone so far is dismissing his BP because of his age.

He was born with a hole in his heart that took almost a year to close. That doesn't cause problems later does it?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[grendslori]

Worried Mom, ALL babies are born with a hole in their heart and most holes close up by the time the baby turns a year of age so really, your son was right on schedule. You need to see a Cardiologist with your son and figure out exactly what is going on with him. There is a possibility that there could also be kidney issues going on which could be a cause of such high blood pressures; consider seeing a Nephrologist and have his kidney function REALLY looked at. The symptoms of kidney disease can be so quiet that your son may not even be aware there is a problem. In fact, I would head to a Nephrologist first, even before the Cardiologist. I think you are right in thinking that there is a problem going on; realistically, depression could be playing a major roll in this, you have to face that possibility; how many young people commit suicide and their parents didn't have a clue! (I'm not saying that is you, but parents are more times than not, the last to know anything about their own children) Hang in there and keep fighting!