Sudden high blood pressure, high heart rate?

[SMW65]

History
45 year old woman
Trying to figure out why my heart rate gets super high on minimal exertion, i.e. jogging at 190, 12 min mile. I've exercised for 20 years, healthy weight, active, don't add salt etc. Went down the cardio road and all is normal and healthy (stress test, holter etc) Down the endo road, slightly elevated dopamine and norepinephrine, slightly elevated cortisol. Shortness of breath on slow jog and walking upstairs my heart rate gets to 125-140.

Today I felt high blood pressure for the first time EVER and bought a cuff to take at home. Came back 156/110. Went to the dr.'s office it was 178/101, they sent me to the ER and it was 183/110. They did a ct scan, blood work and ekg, all was squeaky clean. Now what? My bp is normally 110/68 ! This is really weird for me and I don't know what's causing it. Any ideas?

[Kelly406]

Hi,

Your case sounds a lot like mine.  Did you find out the cause?  I have been in the hospital for 4 days with sudden onset of high blood pressure and pulse. I am a very healthy 47 year female with a 20 year running and yoga practice. Like you I do not tend towards anxiety.  Would love to hear from you

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
Ibuprofen, which belongs to the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), may indeed increase the blood pressure and can interact with other medications. One study published in the journal  Hypertension, showed that  taking more than 400 milligrams of NSAIDs per day upped the risk of high blood pressure by 78% in older women and by 60% in younger women.  Discuss this with your doctor also. However, you may need to proceed with the diagnostic tests to rule out other conditions that such as that mentioned above. Take care always.

[SMW65]

Thank you for your response. As it turns out, my catecholamines came back elevated again. Is it possible that Ibuporfen that I took that day could have raised them? I'm being evaluated for "hyperadrenergic postural orthostatic tachycardia" which could explain the episodic high blood pressure, high heart rate and breathlessness walking up the stairs. The other symptoms seem similar....cold hands and feet, mental fogginess. Although anxiety is a symptom, I can feel the adrenalin physically but I'm not an anxious person or do I have anxiety thoughts so it's not fitting that anxiety is involved.
Would 800mg of ibuprofen be enough to push me into a blood pressure attack?

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? Good to know that all the tests done were fine and your blood pressure has returned to normal. Most of the time, the cause of high blood pressure is not identified and this type is called essential hypertension as mentioned above. The tests being done will help rule out secondary hypertension which can be caused by another medical condition or even from medications you take. AT this point, regular blood pressure monitoring is highly recommended. Take care and do keep us posted.

[hava]

You are very active, so you will have no problem doing this pranayam for 30 minutes, twice a day. You will feel very normal after a few days. Continue doing this for 15 minutes daily for rest of life, after you feel good.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Anulom Vilom pranayam –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.
March 20 ,2011

[SMW65]

Thanks, I have been...all are normal. Went on a run yesterday and was anxious about it's effect on me, but all was fine...bp came back totally normal after. Looking into hyperadrergic POTS and less possible pheo, but both are so similar. Otherwise I'm a healthy, highly active and know this is not right for my body.

[yellowbean]

There are many different things that can cause you blood pressure to be elevated, and it is entirely possible that after the first measurement was elevated, you probably were worried about that, and then the follow-ups were also elevated because of anxiety.

This is one possible explanation.  The best thing to do is measure your blood pressure often over days or weeks and log what they are.  You'll quickly get a feel for what your normal range of blood pressures are, and should help take out any anxiety induced increase.

[SMW65]

Thanks for the reply..oddly enough my blood pressure has returned to normal, 117/78 for the past two days. My doctor gave me a beta blocker to try and control it until we figure out what it is, but I haven't taken it yet because I feel more normal. Having an MRI of the kidneys next week.

[yellowbean]

Hypertension has many many causes.  A thorough workup can sometimes elucidate what the underlying cause is in someone, if not it is called essential hypertension.  Having normal blood pressure in the past does not mean you cannot develop high blood pressure.  

Other causes of HTN that can be seen are renal artery stenosis and pheochromocytoma (adreanl or extra-adrenal).  In younger women one possible cause of bilateral renal artery stenosis which could cause high blood pressure is a condition called fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD).

There are many causes of HTN, and as noted above in the vast majority of cases of HTN there is no identifiable cause and the hypertension is therefore categorized as essential hypertension.