High Blood pressure

[2love4]

I am 38 years old female /w 2 kids  I didnt find out I had high blood pressure until I broke my foot and the doctor made me aware of it. So for about 2 years I have been on meds. I will admit I dont take them like I should. But I recently had a friend pass away from heart problems.So I just went and got all kind of test.because my blood pressure was 149/110  I did a stress test and EKG.my heart rate is normal but the EKG showed that my left side of heart is enlarged . My family doctor informed me with news ,and asked me to take an echo test so alI this weekend I am crying am  nervous I can't sleep or eat .I have taken my pill all this week I went down to 110/ 88. I am  emotional wreck.What do you think? what has caused this?I am thinking about my 2 kids.  

[achillea]

As ed says, the fact that your BP dropped when you started taking your meds regularly is a good sign, and 110 over 88 are OK numbers.

I've had a similar experience with BP and a bit of left ventricular hypertrophy, and when my BP was controlled, the hypertrophy completely disappeared.

At 38, you are relatively young, and unless you have other risk factors that you have not mentioned (obesity, bad family heart history, etc), you can probably stop feeling frantic.

But take this as a timely and serious warning:  Blood pressure is real, and you are almost certainly going to have to take your meds religiously for the rest of your life to keep your heart in the best shape possible.

[markmsn10]

EKG false positive on left heart enlargement is pretty common actually.   In the range of 80% incorrect... see the snip below... relax!!

DETROIT - The electrical measurements on the electrocardiogram can often mislead physicians in diagnosing the heart condition left ventricular hypertrophy, causing other screening tests to be ordered before a definitive conclusion can be made, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

The study of 500 patients found a false positive reading between 77 and 82 percent in patients screened by electrocardiogram, and a false negative reading between 6 percent to 7 percent
in the same patient population.

[ed34]

Now is the time to deal with hypertension because your age is such that it will start to affect your body soon. With the majority of hypertension cases, the cause is never found but there are obviously plenty of meds to help. Once your blood pressure is stabilized, your heart will return to its normal size again. 110/88 is pretty good and means you are getting things under control.