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High blood pressure 21

Ok I'm a 21 year old active male, I'm mixed Caucasian/African American. Recently I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and been put on meds (hydrochloric thiazides) that I just started today. I've been stressing lately because of mild chest pains on the left side of my chest so I went to the ER they ran blood tests, ekg all were fine and I recently got a heart echo done the man who did it said everything looked normal but I gotta wait for the doctor to see it this weekend to hear remits from what he sees. Ive been checking my blood pressure at walmart and it has been running anywhere from 170/100 had a doctor visit yesterday took my Blood pressure on none electric bp machine it read 127/74 then i asked the doc could i walk down the hall and check it again, so I did he checked and it was 167/95...so he put me on those meds yesterday, and said I was able to resume daily activity just don't over work but with blood pressure this high I wonder. I stress and worry about this a lot even tho i try not to and today I started feeling weird in my head about 40 mins after i woke up like heaviness an pressure from my temples from back of my neck and top, idk if this is from anxiety of worrying or high blood pressure because my resting blood pressure was ok at the doctor I also have been having twitching between my eye brows on my forehead. Two days before I had twitching randomly all over.  iI have no insurance and dont know what to do doctor bills are pilling up on me.  But I also don't wanna pass out or die in my sleep from high Bp doing something to my head. PLEASE HELP! I'm scared, and need advice on this idk if I will be ok or not...thank you to everyone who reads this means so much.
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1124887 tn?1313754891
I copy + paste my reply from your other post:

High blood pressure is very unlikely to cause any symptoms. Symptoms like headache, chest discomfort, tinnitus, pressure from the temples, body pulsations, dizziness, etc. are very easy to attribute to a high blood pressure. They are classical symptoms of anxiety and stress, but of course, they can happen together with high blood pressure. They are not necessarily caused by high blood pressure.

For example: When running flat out (10 mph) on the treadmill, my blood pressure is 200/75 with a heart rate of 190-195. I can feel like crap but I don't have the symptoms mentioned above. I've had the symptoms you mention while I'm still in bed in the morning, with a blood pressure of 95/60 heart rate in the low 50s.

Your blood pressure at rest is normal, according to your doctor. So you won't die during sleep. When you are sleeping, you are rarely stressed and usually your blood pressure is even lower. So don't worry about that.

I would recommend you to stop checking your blood pressure on stressful occations, like during shopping. Your resting blood pressure is normal, but of course, if you get an inappropriately high blood pressure with stress, some treatment sounds reasonable, which is what your doctor is doing now. Buy a blood pressure monitor and check your blood pressure when you are feeling relaxed.

Exercise is great to lower blood pressure, especially stress-induced hypertension. But please understand, your blood pressure isn't supposed to be 110/70 during activity and stress. As I mentioned, my blood pressure can get as high as 200 systolic during exercise and that's how it's supposed to be. Compare it with your car. When standing still, your engine shouldn't run at 3-4000 rpm. That said, the fact that your car is able to run at 5000 rpm when needed isn't a bad thing.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Thank you so much and just one more question, my pulse dropped to 46 last night resting pulse and was low 50's all night long should I be worried? I'm 21 male I play basketball on Tuesdays and go to the gym and walk jog tread meal 3o mins a day and 10 mins on the bike at the gym and lift lightly occasionally...and I really have no bad symptoms other than freakibg out a lil cause it feels like its beating too slow?? Advice please? Doc said with no symptoms and how young I am 22 now they don't do anything. Worried some about it...with my high blood pressure too
Helpful - 0
1124887 tn?1313754891
You can't "feel" the stress with high blood pressure. I've had readings during almost panic states at 125/75 and I've had blood pressure of 165/105 at the doctors office, when trying my best to stay calm. It seems like the fear of high blood pressure is driving the blood pressure up, regardless how funny it seems, just as fear of heart rhythm can be causing palpitations, fear of coronary artery disease can cause chest pain (and my current fear, fear of depression, can make me feel depressed). The body just works that way.

At 164/84, yes, your pulse is harder (wide pulse pressure). Your heart pumps more blood. But you can't tell the difference between 164/84 and 134/54 just by feeling the pulse. Rather the opposite, as 134/54 would produce a much harder pulse wave than 164/84. So the pulse itself doesn't provide any useful info.





Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you for your knowledge I should have more trust and I am expecting it to be elevated when they check it on a electric monitor, and it is very. But the manual ones usually reads close to normal and normal. I'm on hydrochloric thiazides right now been taking them for a month it's not really affecting the outcome of my Bp, also I feel like my pulse in my temples and back of head beat harder than normal, I'm usually not stressed when I feel it. I've had a ct scan done on my head too its was all normal. All my tests were thank god...ill try to stay away from the Bp machine for awhile doc said I could eat what I want just no extra salt that I was healthy..but 164/84 was my bo before my stress test so Idk. He has a lot of faith that I'm fine and mostly stressing but I don't feel as tho I am just concerned about my health .
Helpful - 0
1124887 tn?1313754891
Try to forget your blood pressure (easier said than done, of course). Measure it when you visit your doctor (by the way, the "manual" way of measuring is far more accurate than automatic blood pressure monitors), or when you are calm at home.

I strongly think your blood pressure is elevated because you expect it to and because you are stressed when measuring. Elevated blood pressure in response to stress is common, normal and the way it's supposed to be. Treatment is to reduce stress - and a small dose of antihypertensive meds to reduce the blood pressure response some. Your doctor is doing the right thing and you should trust him.

You are living healthy and what you should focus on is reducing anxiety and stress. Maybe you should seek advice on how to do so, or possibly ask your doctor for antianxiety meds like SSRI or similar.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've been experiencing high blood pressure(hypertension) and all started when I went to the ER over chest pains, turned out to be chest strain. Bp was running about 170/100, then went to my local doc he took my Bp it was 140/80, then I walked down the hall way and came back it was 157/95 so he prescribed me hydrochloric thiazides that I've been taking for 3 weeks now doesn't seem to be really affective at lowering my Bp any at all. Went back to the doc and my Bp was 127/75 on a Aneroid Sphygmomanometer(manual Bp monitor with stethoscope) then took it standing it was 140/80....I had previously been to the clinic and got 176/90 at the electric monitor...then went back to the room took it again a few mins later on the Aneroid Sphygmomanometer and it was 130/80..and the electric monitor at Walmart gives me readings around 157/90 too... And I've had an EKG, heart echo, chest ex ray, blood work, and today a stress test. All were normal..took my blood pressure before the stress test it was 164/84 sitting down resting. Doc said I was fine, do what I wanted to do(physically) just to limit the salt that I was healthy... But my blood pressure is my concern..it seems to get high readings on electric but not so much the classic manual ones, and doctor doesn't seem worried about it should I? Been taking the meds perscribed everyday same time but still is high...btw this morning I checked it 4 times when I first work up I got 140,136,123,126 systolic then 80,75,70,68 diastolic..idk how accurate mine is but I always get high reading later in the day I've been eating right exercising don't smoke or drink and I just turned 22 I need help and advice please, anything would be great I don't understand why the doctors not worried with readings like I got.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Idk if you'll see this comment since this post was years ago but I'm experiencing the exact same thing .. do you feel better or are you still going through it ?
Avatar universal
Thanks so much for responding its very helpful
Helpful - 0
5022495 tn?1362452327
Your BP does increase (both systolic and diastolic readings) with activity, so that's not really a concern.  During exercise, the systolic (top number) shouldn't go above 250, but in weightlifting it is somewhat common for it to reach 300.  So depending on how "active" you are, your BP responses could be perfectly normal.  When you put in perspective with your EKG readings, blood tests, and if the heart echo returns without concern, you most likely have a healthy BP response and it is nothing to worry about.  If this is the case, find another doctor.  He shouldn't have prescribed medication in the first place, since you need to have a resting BP reading above 140/90 on more than two occasions to be considered hypertensive.  
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