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Sudden Onset of High Blood Presure

My spouse, 49, recently had a sudden onset of hypertension.  She is taking no medication.  BP has always been in the range of 110/65, was last tested at doctor's office just a few months ago.  Has never had hypertension in her life except late in some pregnancies, which went away.  She recently took a long driving trip over two days by herself, 1,100 miles and drank a lot of caffeine to stay awake, as she'd had only a few hours of sleep after the first day. When she arrived home her BP was high, ranging from 150/100 up to 170/105.  This has persisted for the last 36 hours, standing up, lying down.  Worried about her.  Could the trip have had something to do with it?  Could the stress of it possibly last that long, manifesting itself in temporary hypertension?  Or do people suddenly just get HBP all at once?  
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Avatar universal
Hi there.
Well Caffeine can cause problems if a large dose is consumed.
A daily guidline is 400mg
A coffee has roughly 200 in it. So if you had say 10 Coffees you might have a reaction.!!
Once the consumption stops and the fluid is excreted, levels should drop significantly. Perhaps a couple of Litres of water may help?

If the BP has been always at the lower level and was checked regularly, then 150 - 170 s is a little unusual alright.
In rare cases a BP crisis can develop, with Numbers shooting way up, . This is not too common, but the rule is, if its over 180s or 120d ,  its ER to be safe.
Of course a BP crisis can happen as a result of secondary causes;
There are rare causes like a Pheo in the Adrenal Gland

or a problem with Aldosterone (Adrenaline secretion)
which can release too much Adrenaline, causing a BP spike.
Its unlikely but just monitor things in the next day or two.

Mention this episode to your doc next time and consider a blood test to outrule these rare causes.
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It"s now been over 50 hours and she took her BP a bit ago with a reading of 127/90.  Still high for her, but definitely coming down.  She says she feels much better, less jittery.  Perhaps just too much caffeine.  Thanks so much for the answer, she'll bring this up next time.  She has a check up scheduled with doctor within a couple weeks.  Thanks again for your answer.  
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