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High Blood Pressure/ Young Age
Shurakai
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have been feeling out of sorts lately, so I figured I should go and see what my blood pressure was because I hadn't for awhile.
To my amazement, the machine read 158/100, which I basically did not expect.
I am 21 years of age and categorized as overweight, not anywhere near obese.
I have had some very strange health issues over the years that the doctors could never find the cause of, so by this point my family doctor thinks that I am a hypochondriac. Various issues related to weakness, chest pains etc. if you are curious.
And so, I figured "well gee, lets do as the machine recommends and get a bunch of readings so that I can get an accurate number, because 158/100 is rather redonculus"
And so I am currently doing so, at about 5 of the 8 readings I need before I can go to my doctor and show him what's up.
The average so far is around 155/99.
So, my question basically is: If my doctor has no reaction to this news and says I am fine, Is he crazy or is it actually acceptable for a young adult to have this blood pressure?
I should mention that he has taken my blood pressure various times over the past 24 months and at no time did he remark to me anything out of the ordinary.
To my amazement, the machine read 158/100, which I basically did not expect.
I am 21 years of age and categorized as overweight, not anywhere near obese.
I have had some very strange health issues over the years that the doctors could never find the cause of, so by this point my family doctor thinks that I am a hypochondriac. Various issues related to weakness, chest pains etc. if you are curious.
And so, I figured "well gee, lets do as the machine recommends and get a bunch of readings so that I can get an accurate number, because 158/100 is rather redonculus"
And so I am currently doing so, at about 5 of the 8 readings I need before I can go to my doctor and show him what's up.
The average so far is around 155/99.
So, my question basically is: If my doctor has no reaction to this news and says I am fine, Is he crazy or is it actually acceptable for a young adult to have this blood pressure?
I should mention that he has taken my blood pressure various times over the past 24 months and at no time did he remark to me anything out of the ordinary.
Shurakai on
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Go back tomorrow and take it again, and try to relax a bit beforehand. Thinking about your blood pressure is stressful enough to raise your blood pressure signifigantly. It's called White Coat Syndrome.
I'm 26 and I found out I had high blood pressure a couple years ago. Getting more active, eating less sodium, and losing as little as 10 pounds can all make incredible improvements.
But seriously, if your doctor doesn't take notice to readings like that, get a new fucking doctor.
For all I know the diet could be the cause of the hypertension, but I really hope its not because I am actually losing weight while eating awesome food.
I have had blood tests in the past along side things like halter monitors, chest xrays, and abdominal ultrasounds, especially after and during hospital visits and such (couple times emergency room). Like I said, I am basically an undiagnosed outpatient. I should be on a goddamn episode of House, ha.
If those blood tests (which were indeed fasting) picked up any sign of Diabetes I'm sure they would have pointed it out by now.
If you are female and on hormonal bc you may want to test out going off of bc, that fixed it for me. (Don't forget to talk about long term alternative contraception)
It was just discovered that I have moderate/severe hydronephrosis in my right kidney. This may be causing my blood pressure to be abnormally high.
For you, I would recommend you change your diet, eat less salt, and lose some weight. Another option is to take supplements, like, fish oil and CoQ10.
Came in only to say this. The typical American's diet is insanely high in salt (among other things).
The Doctors went over my history, checked everything, did an EKG, and found I had high blood pressure that they felt was mostly due to stress and an over abundance of caffine. At the time I drank a pot of coffee at minimum a day, so it made a lot of sense. I cut down the coffee, got started on various cereals, and it still didn't go down.
Only once my stress inducers were removed from my life did it effectively go down. So... take that for what you will.
When you go to have your doctor check you, make the appointment specifically to address your blood pressure and your concern about it. Ask what a normal reading for someone in your age category should be, and what his thoughts are on why yours are high.
If you don't mind my asking, what is your height/weight?
Continue to lose weight. Make sure your doctor knows what your diet is like now, and ask for advice. I personally can tell you that you need to slash your sodium intake more than anything, reduce any alcohol intake you may currently partake in, and get more potassium into your diet. Read lables of all the foods you buy. If you can find a lower sodium alternative, buy it. If something has a lot of sodium and there's no low sodium variety or replacement, cut it entirely. Sodium is the devil for blood pressure.
Potassium is one of the best things you can increase in your diet to help. Bananas and avocados are your friends. I have 1 banana and a quarter of an avocado every day. Olive oil has been shown to increase arterial elasticity and help with some cases of high blood pressure, so if you can swap out other oils in your diet for olive oil (or add a little bit as a condiment on things like sandwiches and salads - it's even better if you're not frying with it) that may benefit you.
Whatever you do, get the attention of your doctor on this immediately, and continue to work on dropping weight. Add in exercise if you aren't already. Ask him/her about diet changes. S/he should ask for this, but make sure that you schedule regular follow ups to track your progress. If the medication doesn't have good long term results, they may need to try something else. If you continue to lose weight, and your blood pressure drops, they'll need to know to scale back any medication they may put you on.
The doctor will have to order a couple of blood tests and a doppler scan of your heart before you are put to meds.
In case you are truly suffering of high blood pressure, you will be required to take medication, and this medication could affect your physical performance in several ways, including libido.
I have already seen some good advices here such as reducing consumtion of salt (sodium) and eating less fat. Losing weight will help too
the in-store machines are very rarely well cared for, if you're concerned go see a doctor and have them check your BP
I've had those machines tell me that I was dead.
Go see your doc, make sure they take your BP. I'm pretty sure taking your BP is routine now though.