Sudden anxiety and high BP

[JeyR]

I am 40years old indian (asian) woman. Two months back I delivered my second baby. A week after the delivery I had high blood pressure, swelling of my legs and feet, very severe headache and on one day I almost fainted. When checking with my ob/gyn she said it could be an atypical pregnancy or a seizure type condition which sometimes happens and may be I am past that danger now. She recommended I check with my GP for high blood pressure. One time I had to go to the emergency becaus my BP went 170/104 and I had tingling and numbness in my left arm.

From the blood tests I have high cholestrol and high triglycerides. (I had borderline Gestational diabetes which was controlled by diet. My mom is diabetic) While my GP said that I could take cholestrol control pills, my ob/gyn said that these results might not be considered normal because I just delivered a baby. Basically I have conflicting opinions. I do not think the root cause for my blood pressure has been understood, neither the cause for my unconsciousness (though it lasts only for a second or less).

When I went to the emergency a month back, the doctors had me go through ECG and dopler ultrasound of the heart and found no issues with my heart. From MRI of my brain the Neurologist said that I have a very small menigioma and is not of a concern for now. But I might want to check every 1-2 years to make sure everything is alright.
But now two months later, I still have various weird symptoms. My blood pressure generally remains normal 118/86 most of the day. But in the evenings it goes up - 129/89. Sometimes shoots as high as 145/103 and comes down fairly quickly. When I took BP tablets, the BP was coming down as low as 101/65. So my GP recommended that I use it only when the pressure is high. On and off I feel unconcious/ or have a feeling of blanking out for a second and then everything goes back to normal. I don't understand what this means. This occurs 3-4 times a week. Because my previous High BP, fainting type of symptoms happened around 8PM, every day when it is around 8PM, I get very anxious, nervous and sometimes to the extent of losing consciousness... I feel very fatigued.

Can someone tell me what is going on, what is the right course of steps I need to take to understand the root cause of my problems, so they can be treated. I truly appreciate any thoughts/comments/suggestions.
Jey

[JeyR]

Thank you for the input. I will follow up with my doctor.

[PaulMD]

Hi Jey.

I'm sorry that you are going through all these.  I can say that elevation of the blood pressure along with all the side-effects (which would explain what you are experiencing now) can persist up to 6 months post delivery.  Discuss with your doctor if you can maintain the anti-hypertensive medications since there can be dangerous elevations of your BP without you knowing.

Also, try to discuss with your doctors regarding a disease called Anti-phospholipid-antibody syndrome (APAS).  Though this disease can make you go into spontaneous abortions, sometimes it appears anytime after delivery.  Discuss about the management of your cholesterol through medications or diet.

Hope all of these help.  Regards...