Very nervous

[TLC3299]

Hi all.. I'm a 42 yr female. Never had BP issues before. All of a sudden my BP skyrocketed to 168/118. And also a high heart rate between 107-112. My Dr and I thought it was due to my asthma attack I had and being on all the steroids to treat the asthma. One month later went back for a recheck and still extremely high. Was 168/120 in office. HR was 111. Dr put me on Diovan. It seems to be helping but I still feel my HR is high. Any suggestions? Is it normal for HR to go high with high BP?
Thanks in advance :)

[ed34]

Hi, Your blood pressure increase sounds like a reaction in the blood vessels themselves. Perhaps some blood tests would be appropriate, in particular checking for calcium levels. As your arteries constrict, your pressure is rising and to push the blood through smaller spaces your heart needs to work a bit harder. So the heart rate is understandable and is nowhere near a dangerous level. To put it in perspective, my heart used to happily run at 186 bpm during exercise and the cardiologist had no issues with that. Rather than just give pills, the Doctor should be having many things checked in your blood first which can lead very quickly to the right cause.

[achillea]

If your blood pressure suddenly goes very high--without an obvious explanation like a panic attack--this is called 'Secondary hypertension'  and is different from the ordinary 'Primary  hypertension' that slowly creeps up on most of us with age.

There are three major blood pressure regulating systems in the body:  1.Baroreceptors (pressure sensors) in several of the large blood vessels near the heart

2. Your kidneys

3. Your adrenal glands

In addition, the thyroid gland can malfunction and cause both an increase in BP and heart rate.

When Secondary Hypertension occurs, each of the regulatory systems should be investigated.  Some special tests are required, and sometimes a referral to a hypertension specialist is needed.

As to the increased heart rate, if it is constant, it would be a good idea to see a cardiologist for a workup.  He/she will also have some good ideas about what might be behind the increased blood pressure.