very changable blood pressures

[cynthiaann]

my husband had his first stroke 3 years ago,(he had 1 TIA afterwards) and is on diovan, norvasc, plavix, and 5 others. to dialate veins, reduce water, and lower blood pressure. he has in the last 6 months, lost 25 pounds and has about 15 more to go. he is 56, and although he has word retreval issues, he still works full time, and has only residual weakness on his left side. just recently, I noticed he was red in the face more often than usual...could be that we are outside in this hard winter, but I monitor his pressure, and after resting his pressure was way down to 104/64 but 3 hours later, with no physical activity he was up to 143/83. does this mean he is out of control and we need to rework meds? he had been maintaining a 120-130/80 for the last two years. thank you.

[caregiver222]

It is absolutely positively impossible to provide an answer without knowing the pulse. In additon were the blood pressures taken from the same arm?

[cynthiaann]

always on his right arm, the examples are 104/64 with 67 pulse, and 3 hours later 134/83 with 71 pulse. this morning he was 140/92 with 71 pulse. which is the highest I have clocked, so just those numbers alone mean we have to go back, and I have an appointment for tuesday. last night he went to bed early and I checked him and I did not get the heart rate, but he was super low at 95/65 and felt wiped out. (no wonder if he is used to high). how does a doctor know which of the many meds he is on to try changing first? thanks

[caregiver222]

The standard arm for blood pressure is the left arm. This is because the ambulance guerneys are on the left side of the vehicle and the EMT's sit on the bench and take the left arm to take a BP. That is not to state the right arm is the wrong arm. The numbers you cite do suggest an issue with blood pressure, however you are nowhere's near an acute situation. The first thing you need to do is insure he is getting sufficient calcium. About 18  of people with blood pressure problems can have them eliminated by a calcium supplement. The second thing to try is garlic. Lots of it. The third piece of information concerns what are called ORTHOSTATIC changes. Do a google search as to what this means. The fourth issue is the nature of the pulse. You cannot get this information from an EKG. Running back to get "more medicine" or "an adjustment in medicine" is not always the answer. One issue to be determined is that "is the blood pressure compensatory, or is the etiology unknown. A compensatory blood pressure is life saving. Many doctors "treat" high blood pressure without establishing the cause. For example, in both carotid arteries there are sensors which sense both oxygen (P02) and carbon dioxide (P02). If these sensors (which control blood pressure) are disrupted by plaque, the blood pressure may go out of control. In this case, an operation or pharmaceutical treatment to remove the plaque may be the proper treatment. The plaque does not necessarily appear because of your diet, although it is one posssibility. There is genetic predisposition, but plaque is part of the immune system that encap[sulated bacterial infections that invade the bloodstream, sealing them up. So what you need is a physician to try to find out WHY the blood pressure is abnormal, instead of reaching for the medicine cabinet. In fairness, this is not always possible to do, but it should be "square one".

[caregiver222]

That's 18 percent, and the number comes from a study performed by a drug company I was involved with pushing a popular blood control medication. "God forbid," said the product manager "that people could learn they can crontrol their blood pressure by drinking a glass of milk!" And the physicians in the room chuckled.

[cynthiaann]

I appreciate your input.

[caregiver222]

The problem is with those vitals at resting, is that excitement can drive the heartrate up to 100 easily, and this in turn can lead to an acute hypertensive crisis. Not good. Although not prescribed for this, nitroglycerine tablets under the tongue dilate the blood vessels, increasing capacitance, and drop blood pressure., There are few contraindications, except you should be sitting or lying down to prevent a fall. Stress of all kinds is dangerous. Valium (a stress reliever) has become a controlled substance and you are treated like a drug addict to request it, but it is helpful in maintaining blood pressure, by reducing stress. Weight loss is of course, very desireable. There are several naturopathic alternatives, that increase the lubricosity of the blood cells, enabling them to squeeze through narrow passageways more easily. Cod liver oil and Omega-3 oils apparently have a place in this equation. Whatever blood pressure medication you are on, some physicians suggest you switch to a different one every 6-7 months. The reasoning is that they are all hard on some organs of the body, but a different medication gives the parts strained under the first med a chance to rest and recuperate. I recommend Yoga, if you can find a local practicioner.

[lionne_sg]

One commentator told you to use lots of garlic. Check with the pharmacist first to see if the garlic might potentiate the Plavix and thin the blood too much.  Garlic is a natural blood thinner and is reactive with Coumadin (a more potent blood thinner) and may also not be a good idea with the Plavix.  The proper food substances could certainly lower blood pressure - like calcium, magnesium and potassium, but check with doctor first before increasing greatly. I found that being low on potassium (I take a diuretic)sometimes raises my BP and being low on potassium usually means being low on calcium and magnesium also.

[caregiver222]

You are absolutely RIGHT about garlic having some of the same affects as medications