High blood pressu during anxiety

[swingerofbirches]

I am 26 year old male, slightly overweight (6,3" 200 lbs), lead a sedentary lifestyle full of stress and panic, OCD. I have been treated for anxiety since age 14 with ativan which i now have complete tolerance to (take 4mg a day just to not have withdrawal). I also take 30 mg paxil and 50 mg seroquel at night. My sleep has been rather poor lately as I have too much energy.

I was concerned about my heart rate a while ago and was fitted with a holter monitor. During a very anxious 24 hour period my average heart rate was 91 with a max at one point of 167. I had an EKG done since then which was normal. I am unsure if the sinus tachycardia I had was from anxiety or something else.

Yesterday I had very high anxiety--not a typical panic attack--but just racing more and more and higher and higher energy out of control. I used my dad's home blood pressure monitor at the height of this anxiety attack and my pulse was 122. However, I am more concerned now that my blood pressure was 160 something over 102! I have never seen the bottom number that high before. I took it again not long  after and it was still high but had gone down to a better level. This morning I woke up after not sleeping much with a feeling of dread and took it and my pulse was OK but my blood pressure was still 145 over  a bottom number I can't remember but it was OK (70s or 80s). Last night was even stranger in that my top number was 145 but the bottom had gone down to something in the 60s.

I am going to make an appointment with  a cardiologist on Monday but I am worried I am not safe until then. I have a lot of life changes going on right now causing stress but the fact is that I am usually stressed over something. Am in the heart attack zone or stroke zone with these numbers? FYI, my blood pressure when I calm can be quite low, like as low as 110/60-something. What's strange is that my anxiety no longer follows predictable patterns--before I had my wisdom teeth out and they took my blood pressure it was that low at a time when I thought it would have been higher. I can pretty much predict what my blood pressure will be though before I take based on how much tension I feel in my body.

So basically, I know 160/100 is dangerous, but when they say that is that if it's always that high or just sometimes? I need some insight into whether I should go to an ER before Monday (which in and of itself would be a lot more stress). I think right now thinking about my blood pressure is making it higher. I guess also whether your blood pressure is high from stress and anxiety or not it's still bad for your heart right? So, I have been thinking I should go on something like clonidine, which could also possibly help with my tourette's and eventual withdrawal from ativan.

Thanks for any insight (or hopefully reassurance) you can give.

[titansfan614]

If you have a panic or anxiety attack it is perfectly normal for your BP to be elevated, as a matter of fact, it's what is expected. When people talk about high BP, they mean BP that is consistently elevated. I would not worry about your heart at this point. You still have around 10-15 years before heart problems can possibly become a concern. As for relaxing, I strongly recommend exercising. It is an excellent way to take your mind off stress. Good luck and God bless

[NTB]

> I need some insight into whether I should go to an ER before Monday (which in and of itself would be a lot more stress)

that's likely not called for

high BP can be dangerous in the immediate term if it is a "hypertensive crisis", which level you are well below - you're not close to diastolic of 120

160/100 is a risk in the long term, as titansfan says - when it is that high most of the time. Otherwise exercise would be unhealthy, because exercise generally raises BP while you're doing it

one sign of dangerously high BP is when vision is affected