15 1/2 year old Heart Racing & High Blood Pressure

[bobbysgirl44]

My granddaughter has a history of heart issues from birth.  She sees a cardiologist yearly.  She has had heart racing problems coupled with high blood pressure.   She has been put on High blood pressure meds.   They had her kidneys check (they are ok)...saying teens present with High blood pressure sometimes is caused by potential kidney failure.  That was last week, they said she was OK.   She wore a heart monitor for a month but problems did not show up during that time.  The heart doctors say her heart is OK.  She goes to a group of heart doctors.  She is active playing soccer and softball.   Today she is on way to Emergency as blood pressure is 161/100 and she is having a severe headache.   She has head aches regularly.  HELP!   What are they missing on her?   Worried to death MeMaw!

[vienna13]

one of the great web pages on sodium:

http://www.healthyeatingclub.com/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5a.html

an other:

http://www.megaheart.com/sodium_all_about.html

an other:

http://www.annecollins.com/sodium-foods.htm
  
few sodium content in food from that page:

"Please note: all dietary sodium values are approximate"
Potatoes Sodium (mg)
Potatoes, boiled, in skin (136g) 5mg
Potatoes, baked, flesh only (156g) 8mg
Potatoes, baked, flesh & skin (202g) 12mg
Potatoes, mashed w/milk, 1 cup, home-prepared 636mg
Potatoes, hash browns, frozen, 1 cup 37mg
Potatoes, french fries, 10 strips 15mg


Milk (1 cup) Sodium (mg)
Milk, non-fat/skim 127mg
Milk, 1 percent fat 124mg
Milk, 2 percent fat 122mg
Milk, canned, condensed 389mg
Milk, canned, evaporated, non fat 294mg
Milk, canned, evaporated 267mg
Milk, chocolate, regular 150mg
Buttermilk, low fat 257mg

Fast Food Sodium (mg)
Burrito w/beans & cheese (93g) 583mg
Chicken, breaded, fried (6 pieces) 513mg
Chicken fillet sandwich, plain (182g) 957mg
Chimichanga w/beef (174g) 910mg
Enchilada w/cheese (163g) 784mg
Fish sandwich w/tartar sause & cheese (183g) 939mg
Onion Rings (8-9 rings) 430mg
Nachos w/cheese (6-8 nachos) 816mg

Ice Cream (1/2 cup) Sodium (mg)
Chocolate ice cream 50mg
French vanilla ice cream 52mg
Vanilla ice cream 53mg
Vanilla light ice cream 56mg


Breads (1 slice) Sodium (mg)
Bread, white, 135mg
Bread, whole wheat 148mg
Bread, rye 174mg
Bread, pumpernickel 214mg
Bread, oatmeal 163mg
Bread, Italian 117mg
Bread, French (1/2 inch slice) 152mg
Bread, sourdough 152mg


Rice (1 cup) Sodium (mg)
Rice, brown, long grain, cooked 10mg
Rice, white, long grain, par-boiled 5mg
Rice, white, long grain, dry 9mg
Rice, white, long grain, instant 5mg
Rice, white, long grain, regular, cooked 2mg


Fruit (1 medium fruit unless stated) Sodium (mg)
Grapes (1 cup) 3mg
Kiwi fruit 4.5mg
Mango 4mg
Melon (1 cup) 15.9mg
Orange 0mg
Pineapple (1 cup) 1.55mg
Peach 0mg
Pear 0mg

[vienna13]

I would add many emergency visits are happening because high sodium intake meals. It seems like one had a heart attack.  I should also mention MSG. Monosodium Glutamate.I don’t know if restaurants are still using that nerve poison as a ‘salt’ . Once I got so ill from that, I had a huge portion because the taste was good, my BP went up and it was like a serious heart issue.  I learned my lesson. I don’t keep counting anymore, but it became natural after a while to feel the total numbers and to ‘know’ they are not more than maximum 5-600 mg of sodium in a meal. And for MSG always read labels and do not get the product if it has, also I would ask in a restaurant if they use MSG or not. They must tell, because for many people MSG gives a problem, so they don’t want to be blame for.

[vienna13]

You correct Ed .Something like that.

I looked up my old notes, made back when I was taking that bloody seriously :) (Still should, never enough to talk about salt-sodium, and  good to keep the recommendation)

So it said: On low salt diet getting 2 grams of sodium=5 grams of salt/day
One tea spoon of salt is 5 grams

  From Health Canada:
1 teaspoonful contains about 6 grams of salt
6 grams of salt contains about 2400 mg of sodium
………………………….
The recommended amount is 2000 mg sodium /day 1600mg is the idol.
Nobody should have more than 2400mg sodium per day healthy or with heart, BP problems.

We should never forget all food has less or more sodium in them naturally, we don’t even need to put salt on them we still get sodium. So very important to calculate the daily sodium intake keeping that in mind.

  Also it is better to have (about) the same amount of sodium in all meals 3 or 4 ....600-600-600 mgs of sodium or 400-400-400-400mgs of sodium….always better to eat less and more times a day.

  I prefer the 4 times meal/day  
  One meal should  not go up containing over 500 mg sodium  per day.
  Many canned food has over 1000 my sodium in one serving.

  

[ed34]

I don't know if it;s the same on your side of the planet, but in rehab in the uk, we were told slightly different things regarding salt. They said if the container says sodium, instead of salt, you have to DOUBLE the figure to get the real salt value.
So as an example, if something says 200mgs salt, then this is 200. If it says it's 200mg Sodium, then this is 400mg salt.

[vienna13]

sorry:)...her doctors

It was maybe a "freudian slip":).... it was in my mind that succer is for boys anyway not for girls.:)

[vienna13]

. From my own experience stress can kick up those blood pressure numbers to the sky. It is true only temporarily, because we are on medication but stress keeping us in that stage long enough. Hours-even days.  Just to see those high numbers bring more stress , to us to our loved ones .And I just cannot see competitive sport as a stress free environment at all, but opposite. Doesn’t matter how many doctors would say it is OK.  If a young person already has HBP, meaning she is not 100% healthy. Soccer is a hard sport. Hard sport for people with 100% health. His doctors are wrong.

[vienna13]

Great post about salt-sodium! On sport with HBP my opinion is different.Doctors can be wrong too.

Good to read about your daughter, I hope she will get that new heart one of those days. I remember her from HCOL. A smart girl she is!  

[grendslori]

I'm coming on here on the opposite side of the spectrum. If her cardiologists are willing to let her play heavy sports, then she should do it. You wrote it yourself that her heart is fine. The stigma of being pulled out of sports for a medical reason can be so much more devastating to teens, you don't want to do it unless it is life threatening. Usually sports are only life threatening for those teens who have severe forms of heart disease such as the cardiomyopathies where the muscle of the heart is actually diseased; cardiomyopathies can cause a sudden death. You say the family doesn't salt much. Here's a REAL wake up call for your family.....next time you head to the store start looking at the amount of salt there is on different products (along with the serving size) like a slice of bread (150-290mgs per slice) or HALF a can of soup (400-800mgs). If you granddaughter eats a beef pot pie it's 800mg. Forget the chips and cheese ....oh, and forget the pizza!! Even cereal, a half cup can have quite a bit of salt added.It's not the salting of food at the table or in the cooking, it's what the companies are already placing in the food before you buy it. Both my daughter and I are on a salt intake, per day, of less than 2000mgs. We buy NOTHING prepared and for the things we do need to buy, we really look at the lables for the amount of salt and the serving size to go along with it. Both my daughter and I spent several hours one day and went through all of the aisles at the store checking those lables and let me tell you.... I got a REAL shock when I read those lables!! Not only do I feel a HUGE difference in the way I feel, I've also managed to loose about 15 pounds in the process of staying under that 2000mgs a day! I have totally lost my cravings for sweets, which I never thought would ever happen. Even my daughter, she hasn't felt this good in years, even following her heart transplant, she never felt this good and this heart is now in really bad shape! They are talking about retransplanting her and she's talking about being able to show a dog at our breed National at the end of the month! I would really check those actual salt levels out and start to ration it; your granddaughter may find she starts feeling A LOT better!! Let her play the sports; if the doctors say her heart is fine, socially she needs to be active and involved with teens her own age. My daughter was too sick for any of that and believe me when I say that there is a cost involved here, more than you know.  

[bobbysgirl44]

Her heart doctors (a Group) concensus is to let her play sports.  They don't salt much, no high energy drinks and no coffee.   After the emergency and they did not find anything...her blood pressure is still up.  they did EKG, Head & Neck cat scan and she had already had a kidney scan last week.    As a Grandma...I'm in favor of no sports; but I'm not the doctor!

[bobbysgirl44]

No I did not know her heart rate.   Emergency room didn't find anything last eve.   I will mention to my Son what you said.  

[vienna13]

"She is active playing soccer and softball" Why in the earth she is playing soccer and softball? So many nice relaxing slower exercises are exists there for girls. Her environment must be 100% relaxed, nice and calm, free from stress at least home and during the activities she and the family can control.  She cannot control group sport. Maybe she does, but if not she should start salt free diet.
  Also I hope she doesn't drink coffee, if yes it should be decaffeinated. I was a coffee addict, my headaches were terrible if couldn’t get my high dose on time.  If she drinks energy drinks as group sport players often do tell her Google it and she will read from many people honest testaments how harmful that was for them.

  Hope she will feel better soon!

Best to her and you too! Do not worry! I know you do. I have a 20 years old granddaughter . Your little girl will be fine! It is a good thing they sent her to the Emergency.

[ed34]

They should run hormonal blood tests because all through teen years, hormones can get a bit bumpy. A urine test also for kidney function and also an echocardiogram would be useful. When her blood pressure was 161/100 do you know what her heart rate was?