Beta-blockers are one choice but can cause problems in persons with asthma and other lung disorders. There are many choices of medications and sometimes several different ones must be tried before the best one is found.
Thank you doctor! No one has actually come out and said that this is by definition, high blood pressure and I always wondered if I should really be on this beta blocker. Like Deb, my readings were taken in many different situations. The first high reading was in a high anxiety situation (pre-op) and the second when I was hassled. Since this often happens in my job, I wondered if I was having these periods of hypertension in similar situations. Doing my family history I discovered that my paternal grandmother,her father, and each of her 3 brothers all died of strokes so I was a little worried. Deb, my doctor said that beta blockers can aggravate asthma. Thanks again.
It is not the presence of low readings that concern doctors (unless they are accompanied y symptoms such as lightheadedness) but the fact that there are repeated high readings. This is by defination high blood pressure and needs to be treated.
Hi Deb:
I have had the same thing happen to me, although the elevated readings not quite as high as yours. 159/105, then 120/86, then 175/95, etc. etc. Like you I have always had low to normal readings, especially the diastolic. I have never had "white coat hypertension" before this started happening. And if the elevations are anxiety induced, I wondered if frequent stress (such as in a stressful job) could be doing this to me regularly, and if so, was it harmful. My pcp put me on a beta blocker, atenolol, to blunt these responses. I have been taking it for a year now and still don't know if I really have hyptertension. (without the medication) I hope you get a better understanding of this than I have!
Chris S.
Is high blood pressure typically treated with beta blockers. When they were thinking of treating the arrhythmia they decided it was far better not to treat it because I have a history of severe unstable asthma. I have been requiring prednisone tapers a couple times a month due to the severity of the asthma. Are there other options should these continued episodes of high blood pressure readings continue? I've had yet another reading in the 170s/110s. I think the fact these keep occuring in different doctor's offices is why nobody really mentions it....I suppose if it occurs repeatedly in any one docs office maybe they will say something about it.
Deb
A blood pressure of greater than 140/90 on three separate occasions is enough to make a diagnosis of high blood pressure. Given your family history I would suspect you will need to start taking medications.
Sorry, I should have mentioned the Cardiolite tests and echo will not be done until November....I did have an echo in the ER a month ago that was ok but it appears the cardiologist feels it was poor quality, hence the new one being ordered. Thanks.