Is 143/68 and 145/73 high blood pressure?

[Justin1967]

I'm 40yr guy, and the doctors refuse to give me meds for my BP.
I'm just wondering is it just normal. I'm non-smoker, exercise every other day, weigh about 165, 6 foot tall, slim build, occasional head aches otherwise fine.

[Momto3]

Here is a link to the American Heart Association site where you can see the recommended levels:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2112

Hope that helps.

Do you also check your BP at home?  Is it possible that it is only elevevated at the doctor's office?

[Justin1967]

My Bp is around 147/77 ,141/66 and 149/86  for the last 3-4 weeks. I have managed to buy myself a BP monitor..

Thanks for the link, I will check it out..

[anacyde]

Anything that exceeds 120/80 is borderline hypetensive.

Anything that exceeds 140/90 is hypertensive.

So yes.  And you only need one of those numbers to be elevated for it to be considered hypertension.

Store-purchased monitors can err, so follow up with your doctor on this to be sure.  Best wishes to you.

[Momto3]

Yep, those home monitors can be wrong!  My doctor wanted me to keep an eye on my BP, so now I have a home monitor.  When I got it, I took it with me to an appointment to be sure the readings I get are similar to that of the doctor.  Seemed good, but I don't rely on it too much.  It just gives me an idea of where I'm at.

The BP's you mentioned are elevated, but I think I'd want a little more reassurance that your home monitor is reliable before I would consider treatment.  Do you think you could stop by the office once/week for maybe a month so they can check it first-hand?  No appointment, just a bp check?? What has your doctor said about you BP?

[mas2782]

I posted last week about getting readings of 140/70 at my last two doctor's appts. My BP has always been 117/60 before that. I am right around the cut off for arm size to use the large cuff.

My BP at the drug store electric monitor was 120/60 the same day that it was high at the docs...I have a call in to see what they want me to do.

Thoughts?

[Barbarella]

You probably have "white coat hypertension", I have that.   Some doctors brush it off, some of them want to put you on BP meds because as they say they don't know how your BP reacts when angry, when you have anxiety, when you are in suspense, cut off in traffic etc etc. Like one doctor told me "you are not always sitting at home on your couch taking your BP".  It can be very confusing because different doctors have different opinions.  A Hypertension Specialist told me to sit quiet for 15 minutes before taking my BP, an Internist told me "stop whatever you are doing and take your BP, you are not sitting on the couch "quiet" all day, I want to see your BP when you are active" etc etc. When I said "doesn't everybody's BP goes up when they are active" I had stepped on his toes, and he didn't like that, and told me to do it anyway.  Long story short, I did what the Hypertension Specialist told me, he is the Specialist in that field.  

Get yourself a home monitor.  I got the "Omron" and the Hypertension Specialist I saw said it was one of the best, but he also told me that the "wrist" monitors were not as accurate as the cuff on your arm.  I never got the wrist monitors.  Take your BP one time every day at different times (that is what a Hypertension Specialist made me do) for two weeks.  Write it down, the times you took the BP, and the BP# and bring it with you at your next doctor's appointment.  Also bring your home monitor to check against "their" monitor.   If you should have an elevated number write down whether you felt anxious, had a pain, or just not feeling good that day.  That is what I had to do.  Lots of times I was anxious what my number will be, and that caused my BP to go up, but not as bad as at the doctor's office.

For people who do not have a monitor sometimes the doctors want you to come in for 5 readings, five days in the row, but if you have white coat hypertension your BP will be elevated every time you show up for the BP readings. I've been there done that, no thank you.

The Hypertension Specialist told me that people who react hypertensive when going to the doctor usually also react hypertensive in other situations.  He educated me a lot about BP, and took all the fear out of me of having a stroke or heart attack because of one spike, but also told me that I should go on BP meds.  I did, and have not regret it for the last four yrs that I am on it.

If your BP only goes to 140/70 that is not bad if it is white coat hypertension.  I had worst numbers when going to the doctors when I was a Teenager, but it was brushed off back then, and slowly over the yrs the BP readings got higher and higher at the doctor's office.

  

[mas2782]

What is your feeling on cuff size? I am right on the borderline of the AHA guidleines...around 14 inches. When they take my BP with the bigger cuff it is ALWAYS 117/60...but some nurses won't use the bigger cuff for me because I'm "not obese".

Do you think the bigger cuff is giving me a false reading? This would be a big difference for me. Also, I want to know what cuff to get for a home BP monitor if that's what I need.

Thanks

[Barbarella]

I cannot comment on the cuff size as in which size is better because I do not know that much about it.  The home monitors have a cuff attached to it.  I didn't know that adults unless extremely obese have their BP taken with different cuff sizes.  The home monitors as far as I know all have the same size cuffs for adults just like the BP machines at the pharmacies.

[Justin1967]

So what can I do if the doctors only think my BP is a little high...
. I mean is to ok to have 140-149 BP readings all the time? I haven't got another doctor appointment so I don't have a clue what to do..
I will also do as you suggested take my Home BP monitor into the doc to get it checked out..
I got the same reading the other day when I was at the doctors 146/.


.

[Itschuck2c]

Get on a treadmill everday, 30 mins a day and make yourself sweat. (hard exercise) Your bp will drop. Also if they say you should take meds, make sure is a diurectic. Many docs push the latest and greatest and forget/dismiss the older stuff.