Yep my money is on anxiety. Your B/P was pretty great even tho you took it standing up which you are actually supposed to be sitting down so it should have actually read a little higher than it did. As far as your pulse rate went...yep it was high at the time but dropped back down to a normal rate once you calmed down. A "staggering" rate at 140 is high but definately not "staggering". Staggering would be in the upper 200's and even into the 300's. Bear in mind a normal pulse for a non athlete is between 70 and 120. You seem to have some sort of fear factor going on with you that may need to be addressed so that you can go back to living a life for yourself and not turn back with completing simple tasks like walking to a store without fear. A very normal B/P would run you about 120/60+ and the upper number is the most important number so relax a little my friend. It may be time for you to make a visit with someone that you can talk to openly about your fears......your health from what you've described leads me to say you are a very lucky person to have the readings that you did....time to bite the bullet and sit down with a professional to take back control of your life.......good luck
Thank you cindy, your reply sounds very logical, and it meant a lot to me. I appreciate it. anxiety is a terrible disorder, and I will admit it rules most of my life right now.
sincerely,
Those numbers are not staggering. They're good. They're well within the range of what anxiety can produce. BP is fine, responding to an elevated heart rate as it should. Anxiety focused on heart rate is a strong feedback loop.
1. Think you're HR is not normal
2. get anxious
3. HR naturally goes up and you feel it
4. go back to 1
You body has learned this behavior, time to unlearn it.
The way you overcome these phobias is to ignore them and keep doing your activity. In the world of behavior therapy, what you did when you turned around from going to the store is you reinforced the behavior. When faced with the stimulus (HR), you ran for cover by turning around. Of course the HR came down eventually so you've reinforced this behavior.
The way you break it is to continue going to the store. Don't stop. Eventually the HR will come down on its own. Since you didn't reward the fear, you will eventually unlearn it.
This has worked wonders for me. I lived with anxiety disorder in my early 30s and I got control of it this way. I still have it once in a while but this coping strategy always gets me through. When you do this right, it's like an epiphany, kinda spiritual. I actually look forward to getting to this level so it becomes something I look forward to, which further diffuses the situation.
Remember this, one of favorite quotes
"I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
Frank Herbert, Dune
Amazing reply!! Thanks for that.
I have same as you op. Same age too, feel free to message me. X x
Yeah you make excellent sense, and i know that is the right thing, to ignore it and face your fears. But the problem with me doing that, is that there is a level of uncertainty in me. There is always a what if, in the back of my mind that dominates, and my heart rate was a little too fast for me to ignore. A quick pulse is no big deal, but it really got up there at the store. The time i recorded the 140 beats per min, that didnt even feel as fast or as forceful as the time I went to the store. I really felt that if i continued I might have collapsed. I was not strong enough mentally to take that risk. Perhaps if I got a thorough checkup and they said my heart was fine, I would be more brave to keep walking with a heart rate that felt like atrial fibrillation or something.