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Blood Pressure is High and Low

Mum is 85 and has suffered high blood pressure for decades, she has had four heart attacks but in the last few years has not suffered any.and had a irregular heart beat recent ECGs show the heart is now working regularly.

However since Easter she has suffered high blood pressure in the mornings and low pressure at night. Two of our three GPs have been useless , one just tells her her heart is failing, the other sends her to the cardiology nurse who refers her back to the GP and has recommended the doctors put her on anxiety pills. The third GP has been more sympathetic but has treated her high blood pressure and has brought it down to 180/96 or below depending on the day.

Friday mum had a blood pressure reading of 226/109 in the morning, 111 refereed her to the GP but no GP appointments were available so saw the practice nurse who called an ambulance. The triage nurse questioned us why we come in, told mum that if we had come in by ourselves we would be sent to the GP but as we had been referred by the GP we would see a Doctor.

Junior Doctor (4 hours later) called a consultant who decided to admit her for a few days for observation. Saturday a ward Doctor discharged her but another one decided to keep her in hospital. her blood pressure fluctuated between 97  and 186 diastolic and on Sunday morning was at 179 when a Doctor told her, her blood pressure was acceptable and sent her home.

So back to the GP on Monday who gave her a higher dose of high blood pressure pills, currently it is 113/56

I have asked the Doctors and the nurse to refer her to a specialist but they won't.

Has anyone any advice?

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973741 tn?1342342773
My gosh.  That is stunning. Are they just waiting for your mom to die?  That's really shoddy treatment of her in my opinion!  The meds did seem to bring her down well though if she is stable at 113/56.  But she obviously could have a stroke or go into heart failure or have an MI again if those high levels continue as they were.  Do you monitor  her daily?  I would absolutely hate to think they are withholding adequate treatment because of her age.  You hear of these things but it is hard to imagine and unacceptable when it is YOUR loved one.  Do you have any recourse to get to a specialist at all or must you have their approval they are not wanting to give?
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