anger and bp

[Carole-W]

  My husband has been on medication for high blood pressure for twelve years.  This has brought his numbers down into the "normal" catagory.  He thinks he no longer has a problem.  However, one evening he was taking his pressure at home right after he had had an argument with our teenage daughter and the reading was 170/83.  Am I right that this means his blood pressure spikes when he is upset, and that this is dangerous?  He thinks he has no problem now.  I'm concerned for his health.  He's only 53.
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Dear Carole,
Thank you for your question.  You raise an important point that blood pressure (BP) is not a fixed number and there is quite a bit of flux during the course of the day.  Strong emotional stress can raise BP and if the BP goes too high >190 can cause problems.  I would recommend having your husband take several different reading during the day over the course of a week and write them down.  Then he can take his log into his doctor and discuss any changes necessary to his medications.
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.