Re: Numbers close together

Posted By Yankee Girl on October 26, 1998 at 19:03:22:

In Reply to: Numbers close together posted by CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on October 26, 1998 at 13:44:27:






: : : My husband has high blood pressure.  His numbers run very close together
: : : most of the time.  Sometimes they are only 10 points apart.  We cannot find
: : : a reason for this.  Is this healthy??  His Doctor has him on several
: : : medications, but they do not seem to be helping.  Can you explain why
: : : this is, and what are some of the treatments???   Thank You

: : Dear Yankee Girl,
It is extremely unusual for the numbers to be 10 mmHg apart. That makes me think that the measurement is inaccurate. Rarely, certain heart valve diseases can lead to such a result. What are the actual blood pressure measurements?
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
Here are a few examples of my husbands B/P's.  151/108. 128/102 140/110. At
this time he cannot see any other Dr.s other than the one provided for him. But, I
still worry. Any Ideas???
Thank you very much for the information. I now have a list of medications
that are being given and would like to know if they are appropriate, as they
do not seem to be working.  100 MG Atenenal, 240 mg Virapamile am and 120 mg
virapamile pm,  I mg minipress am and pm, 160 mg of lasix, 2000 mg niacin,
potassium, vitamin E and one aspiran a day.  He does not feel well with the
added minipress.  He has only been on that one week.  Thank you.

Dear Yankee Girl
The numbers suggest that your husband has both systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) hypertension. If the numbers you provided are while he is taking medications, then his blood pressure is poorly controlled. He either needs more or different medications. Alternatively, he may have secondary hypertension, meaning that there is an underlying (treatable) cause of his blood pressure problem - your doctor would have to specifically look for this.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.