Im 27 with high blood pressure

hello, i am 27 years latin male.  i have been monitoring my pressure this whole week and it has ranged from 140-158/79-97. i know this is high for my age. what can this mean for me.

[kitcurious]

You should see your doctor for a check up. The doctor's exam may not give the same result. If they do get elevated pressure readings too, there may an underlying cause ( get your thyroid checked for instance) or this may be something that can be helped by dietary changes and exercise . There are medications that can bring it down if lifestyle changes aren't enough.
It is good that you have noted it early.
Good luck.

[EFT56]

High blood pressure depends on what your doing - like do you smoke ! eat junk foods, drink heavy.
no exercise, so on and so on..  it also depends on your waight, hight and age group.  and condition.
140 -79  isnt so bad if your heavy  or eatting junk foods.  blood pressure always goes up and down
in everyone.  best is to get checked out by a good Doctor who knows the heart and blood pressure.
and knows how to treat it right. (not a pill pusher, or one that does the guessing game ) as have to say iv run into a few of them , in the Hmo systems.   also if you end up on medications for high b.p.
always -always! check the side effects and ask the Doctor to test you first, for allergic reactions or if you can take the medications. as most people cant take them without adverse side effects !

remember your the paying for the treatments and meds.. as well its your body !  you trust them to do the right thing and take care of you correct.  

good luck and hope things work out well for you.  

[Itschuck2c]

Watch your sodium intake, 1 big mac value meal has more sodium than you need for the day..also exercise, as in running. At your age you should be able to work up to a ten minute mile fairly easy, and that will bring your bp down.

[cmt51597]

Latin males are at high-risk for this and your diet probably does not help.  Stay away from sodium, which means you probably need to make a huge alteration from your diet.  You need to eat more simple and stay away from all the salt, seanonings, pork, and heavy foods. Eat grilled chicked, baked fish, lentils, etc.

You need to exercise, lower your stress/tension, meditate, and find ways to lower your BP.  If you are overweight (have a body mass index BMI over 30) you need to loose weight.  you can have your bmi measured by calipers or in a pool with the proper device (more accurate).  

If you don't correct your very high BP it can mean many bad things for your health-- it can cause hypertrophy (thickening of the heart)- this can effect heart function, the high pressure can cause damage to your organs, especially the kidneys and eyes (if you end of with renal failure you will have to get dialysis (a machine to clean your blood) for the rest of your life.  it can also damage your heart valves and possibly cause your aorta to dilate and if that becomes severe it can become an aortic anuerysm that can burst and cause certain death.  So, is that enough to convince you to change?  Or would you rather spend your best years in the hospital?  Not so exciting, huh?  

You are still young and can make a huge turnaround now and it probably won't effect you-- but you need to keep vigilant and even if you do everything right this might become an issue later in your life, but if you don't take care of it now, you might not have to worry about a "later on".  Work closely with a doc and get this undercontrol through drugs and lifestyle changes and be committed to sticking to the plan.  You don't have to live on broccoli, but until you get this under control, fast food, alcohol, any fried foods, high-salt foods is out of the question.  Stick to eating at home right now, boiling, baking, broiling or grilling whatever you eat.  No processed foods (mo microwavable/frozen foods) and definitely no cake, twinkies, cookies or anything like that.  If you want desert have frozen yogurt or applesauce with cinnamon.  If you do eat out, get a grilled chicken salad with the dressing on the side, preferable a vinigrette dressing, no ranch, or heavy dressing.  No soda!!  Light on the juice. Stick with water and if you can afford it, the organic juice without sugar.  Light on the fresh fruit since you are trying to lose weight.  But, eat plenty of fresh vegetables.  

Stay away from stressful situations and consider switching your job/career if need be or even move to a more relaxing city.  it's your life.  If you are not married, consider finding a partner.  A good marriage can calm you.  But, I would get the BP under control first.  If something relaxes your fishing, hiking, traveling, etc. do more of it!  If you say you have no time, make time.  

You may still have to take BP medication the rest of your life even with all the lifestyle changes but it's better than the alternative.  You will see if you need to once you make a plan with your doc.  But, you DO need a plan to manage this.  And you will need to get regular check-ups to see that it's under control.  

BP is a big problem for the latin american community.  I work in South Florida and see so many middle-aged latin males with heart problems from long-standing high blood pressure.  I am beginning to see more and more males (both caucasian and latin) in their 30s with high BP and it is very worrisome.  This is a national problem and it's mainly due to our overweight population, salty/heavy foods, and continuing lack of exercise.  We are literally killing ourselves.  So don't be part of the problem, otherwise you will be meeting me in person for your echocardiogram and find yourself having a hard time getting a good life insurance policy.   Be active, be committed, get moving, literally!