Dairy Products Raising Blood Pressure?

I've noticed that every time I ingest dairy products, whether it be a bowl of a cereal or a cup of yogurt, 15-20 after ingestation, my heart ends up beating harder than it did before along with higher readings of blood pressure (140/80). I take atenolol (50mg) and a diuretic (HCTZ, 25mg) for blood pressure, and my normal readings are between 130/75 and 115/60. I just happened to drink some Keifer tonight (like a yogurt smoothie) and I was sitting on the couch watching TV, and my heart started beating harder than usual and when I just checked my blood pressure, it was 140/80. Maybe this is some sort of reaction to the dairy, like a dietary issue? I don't think I've ever had this issue before.

I also take synthroid from the removal of my thyroid (175mcg) and Tricor for high triglycerides (145mg), but this dairy issue has been ongoing since then. It's just that eating dairy makes my heart feel like I'm on the verge of having a panic attack or about to go into adrenaline survival mode.

[erijon]

Good question, it is a normal reaction to eating for your heart rate to increase in order to meet the needs of your digestive track. In addition, it has been shown that people who have a high dairy diet are less likely to have high blood pressure. This is because calcium actively lowers BP.

My guess would be that you are experiencing a normal increase in heart rate to help digest what you are ingesting and as a result of the higher heart rate, you are also seeing an increase in BP. Throw a little anxiety on top of that and before you know it your BP is too high.

I hope this helps,

Jon