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Hypertension issues

Im 26 y/o male fit and relatively healthy than most. Have a bevy of family history of hypertension. Earliest i recall having taken a high bp of 140/90 was when i was around 20

y/o. For 6 yrs, tried to control with only diet and exercise. A few months ago during annual checkup, bp was still 140/90 even reached 150/90. Doctor said was time to take

medication to control bp. I agreed. He gave me 5mg bisoprolol daily. After one month, bp was controlled at 120/80 but I now notice as if my stamina is weaker but what was

significant was the fact that there was an redness and slight itchiness on my arms and legs. But there was no pain whatsoever. Took 2 weeks off the drug and the itchiness went

away however, my heart feels like it was beating so hard.

Then I was prescribed losartan 50mg. After about 3 weeks, for the first time in my life, I felt ever so slight chest discomfort or pain and shortness of breath as if my lung

capacity was suddenly cut in half. My bp with 50mg losartan was still high around 130/90 to 140/90. Chest discomfort occured daily since then so I went back to the doctor and

he ordered me to have full diagnostic tests. He changed my meds and prescribed 40mg olmesartan while waiting for the results to ease the symptoms. After 3 days, chest pain and

shortness of breath was significantly reduced however I became dizzy when standing from sitting or lying down position. Doctor said orthostatic hypotension but was probably

just dehydrated. Tried to cut the dose to 20mg and dizziness went away but the chest pain came back. So went back to 40mg.

Tests came back. ECG normal. Echocardiogram, normal ventricles. Found very mild mvp. stress treadmill, good exercise capacity. blood tests very normal with an elevated HDL at

73. There was no reason for the chest pain said the doctor so he made me remain on 40mg olmesartan with consistent exercise and healthy diet.

My problem was that I never experienced chest pain before taking any meds and now im afraid to reduce the dosage (much less come off it) because chest pain might come back and

it is scary. I was pretty fit before and I exercised daily with much more intensity but now my exercise capacity isnt as good anymore. But he didnt care and still told me to

take 40mg olmesartan..Is it because of the ARBs? Whats happening? is this normal?
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Avatar universal
Hi there. Im not a doctor but will try help. Firstly, have you had blood work done? I presume so and that all were ok? When you stop a beta blocker like Bisoprolol, its common for a time to have an increased strong heart beat. Its a type of rebound from stopping the medication. Did you get a 24 hour ABPM test? its non invasive and costs little. Definitely get one, its the gold standard test for getting a proper 24hour average on your blood pressure numbers. Most meds have side effects, so these may be making you feel a bit unfit and wrecked? Some also cause muscle aches and this is a real pain in the ***. Usually docs are just happy once the BP numbers go down. They listen ok, but your left with the meds and the side effects. Often these meds are for life! So you should move cautiously. Maybe its part anxiety or fear that make it worse? Only you can know that. The dizzy bit when standing up is from the meds I would guess, they cause the BP to go a bit low, giving low BP symptoms. Blood pressure meds are for BP and I cant understand how you got them for chest pain. Your choice is to write down a list of your symptoms, get the 24 hour BP test, and go back to the doctor. If your not happy, get a second opinion. I have 2 years of BP issues and have had many of the various tabs over this time. I had all the tests inc an Angio. 6 months later I had great difficulty walking a few hundred meters, back, arm, jaw, chest pain on the exertion. It took 9 months of me pushing the cardio doctors, eventually they did a second angio. Result: 2 x  90% blockages in the LAD, had to be stented asap. Am ok now. The moral of the story is you know your own body best, so keep at it till your comfortable with things.
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