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Stage I High Blood Pressure and worried

I'm sure you've seen me on these forums before. I'm 16, male and over the past couple days I've been having really bad palpitations and chest pain. I'm worried because I checked my blood pressure at the nurse and it was 142/80.. which is potentially dangerous.

I'm not overweight or have diabetes. And I have no family history of heart disease. And I have had a chest xray, blood work, EKG, holter monitor and echocardiodiagram done. They all came back normal, but that was 5 months ago... so I dont know what to think.

I'm in pain, and I'm terrified
3 Responses
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973741 tn?1342342773
That's scary.  I know how that feels.  Some people do have a lot of anxiety during a blood pressure check.  That it is generally lower, that's good news and indicates more of anxiety than anything else. When they are truly concerned, you get a home bp monitor and check it frequently.  Your age is a great factor in that high bp is not that common for a teen.  At 16, you're a kid.  What do your parents say about this?  
Helpful - 0
3 Comments
If he is obsessing over HBP unnecessarily, then getting one for home use will not be a good idea because he will be testing all day long. It is more of a question of what does his doctor think about this.
I did call my doctor, who has seen me like 16 times this year because of my health anxiety. He said the same thing he always says "you're anxious. Please take your meds."
So, here was my point,  the protocol if medical professionals are concerned about a blood pressure issue is they follow up with things like frequent BP readings taken at home or through a monitor.  He's been to the doctor and they are not concerned in that way.  For those with true hypertension, they are often anxious about it but still have to check their BP daily per protocol.  

So, Zach, your doctors are not concerned.  As they take an oath to work in the best interest of patients, this should be reassuring to you.  You do not have stage 1 hypertension based on their actions.  Also, I am surprised they even take calls from you as a young person.  You are still a minor and under the control and care of parents or guardians.  My children's doctor would not take a call from them on their own.  What do your parents say about this?  

I am sorry you are going though this.  If your meds are not controlling your anxiety, you need to talk to the doctor that prescribed it so that you can get this under control.  You also are hopefully working with a therapist.  

But as a minor, you are not in charge of your own healthcare, have your own insurance or pay the medical bills so parents generally MUST be involved ant that is who you really need to talk to about this.  If you don't see a therapist, please take that as your next step of what you need to do. good luck
1530171 tn?1448129593
Zach you are a worrier -not a warrior-  and you stress  over your BP which the nurse erroneously assessed as high at 135 over ? and recommended to see your doctor.
And the 142/80 BP would be dangerous ONLY if it could be sustained for a very long time!
BP fluctuates ALL the time! You need to take multiple readings throughout the week and then average them out
to get a more realistic result.
Factors like activity, stress, fluid intake etc. affect BP levels.
I go mostly by the "Pulse Pressure" which is the difference between the systolic and diastolic pressure readings, a much better indicator of heart health.

Anyways, my suggestion is to become a warrior instead and declare war on your anxiety!
Take steps to do whatever it takes, therapy, meditation,
EFT, mind-body connection, yoga, breathing exercises, optimizing nutrition, correcting nutritional/vitamin and mineral deficiencies (like tissue magnesium) ,rebalancing neurotransmitters with the least amount of drugs, targeted supplementation...
The following book (free ebook version if you really search)
is a very good read with many great suggestions:
"Healing and Wholeness: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Mental Health".

Cheers,
Niko
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The pain has nothing to do with HBP as far as I know so that part is in your head. If the nurse verified you have HBP (your post misses a few words so I can't tell) then you will have to follow guidelines to deal with it. Did you ask them about what you should do?
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
Well, this isnt the first time this has happened. It just hasnt ever been this bad. One time I went to the nurse and it was 135 and she said I should go to the doctor. I went the next day and when the doctor checked it, it was normal. I think it was 109/70 or something.

So that being said, the nurse wasnt worried really. She said I'm probably just stressed about finals which is causing it to rise so high.

I dont believe that, but that is what she said.
Oh, that changes everything if she said it is a temporary issue. What about seeing your school counselor for a one on one discussion? They may refer you to a therapist depending on how it goes.

The real key is to accept the diagnosis that it is anxiety and relax, because your symptoms will mainly if not all disappear. Not everyone can do that but lots have been successful, so if you can't do it alone over the next day, I suggest the counselor for help..
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