Mike.

Sorry to learn that you’re in a bit of a bind, right now.

If you have the time and motivation, then I’d suggest reading “the diet delusion”. It’s a book someone else on here recommended, I went and bought it and it’s a enlightening read.

15 years ago, my GP told me that if you’re born with narrow viens and arteries then high BP is what you get!

However, since then I’ve done a lot of research and to cut to the chase.
It aint’ so simple!

Remain positive. Ton is a great example of what one can achieve and you can do this too. It’s not over!

You can do the same! High BP isn’t always a one way street.

Does low heart rate / high cholesterol have a bearing on bp?

Mike,
Im 42 and recently been put on Ramipril 2.5mg (quite low dosage). Always get high readings when I go to doc ( over 150/100). Had all tests done – ambulatory, ECG, Stressed ECG, Cardio Echogram,
At home i can now get readings 125/75 when chilled. Drugs do help. Im fit & healthy, don’t smoke or drink. Docs advised me to try and keep my upper reading below 130. So at present on drugs and monitoring it. May be for life,, who knows.
Specialist said its not for next 5 years, but for 30 years time. I exercise normally and push myself quite hard with no ill affects. At least I had peace of mind of loads of heart tests, which might be worth getting done for peace of mind. I need to reduce my coffee intake too!! Good luck

NHS divides it into normal and OMG you’re going to die! In the US they have pre-hypertension as a diagnosed condition

Yeah, that’s not quite right though!!
Read up on stage 1, stage 2, malignant hypertension etc etc.

Have a look at the ‘nice clinical knowledge summaries’website (forever changing address!) For more info on blood pressure.

DrP

I did the iDave diet for 6 months or so, and that seemed to help my asthma and hayfever that summer. I might go back to a more-iDave diet and see if that helps, but it’ll almost certainly be in addition to whatever the doctor recommends.

I’ve already dropped from two coffees at work in the morning to just one but I’m deliberately not making too drastic changes during this week as I want a clear picture. BP was down to 132/74 this morning, so heading in the right direction.

The website’s http://cks.nice.org.uk/hypertension-not-diabetic DrP, thanks I’ll take a look.

Looks like I’m heading for a stage 1 hypertension diagnosis: “clinic blood pressure is above or equal to 140/90 mmHg, and ABPM average is above or equal to 135/85 mmHg. The decision to treat this level of hypertension depends on an assessment of the total cardiovascular disease risk”, which means I’ll be offered medication if “Target organ damage, established cardiovascular disease, renal disease, diabetes, and/or a 10 year cardiovascular risk of 20% or more”.

I’m guessing I’m not in a high risk category (white, youngish, fit, non-smoker) so will possibly be put on the lifestyle choices path, though there’s not much I can do there.

If I am offered treatment looks like it’ll be an ACE-inhibitor though my anxiety/stress issues might count as “evidence of increased sympathetic drive, such as sweating or palpitation symptoms” and so lead to a beta-blocker being prescribed?

Being a doctor is fun 🙂

If I am offered treatment looks like it’ll be an ACE-inhibitor though my anxiety/stress issues might count as “evidence of increased sympathetic drive, such as sweating or palpitation symptoms” and so lead to a beta-blocker being prescribed?

Beta blockers don’t reduce stress, just reduce one symptom: elevated heart rate (which reduces blood pressure). If you do lots of sport they’re a killer as you can’t exercise properly. If anxiety is a long term issue, SSRIs might be better.

I’d not fancy beta blockers for that very reason (other than perhaps for short term use to get past a stressful situation), and pretty much have the stress/anxiety under control so don’t think they or SSRIs are the way to go.

I did 4 years on beta blockers. they were far worse than the ailment to deal with.
like having a pressure cooker lid on your head, just waiting to pop when you try to exercise.

Mine is up in the higher range of above normal, but I really don’t like the thoughts of taking meds… especially long term.

I am the most laid back person on the planet, I’m reasonably fit, if a little on the wrong side of heavyish. Mine has been like this for 10 years and I can and still exercise hard regularly.

I don’t really understand that what’s the difference between normal for me and should have meds… is it possible that some people are just higher than others and it’s not an issue.

Not that it matters but my resting HR is 45.

On the mend Mike thanks. GP appointment this afternoon. I have to give her a copy of the ECG thingy.

miketually – Member

I’m guessing I’m not in a high risk category (white, youngish, fit, non-smoker)

This is the UK website for accurately calculating your 10 year risk of something bad happening: QRISK2

Based upon that and the number of crashes on MTBs and motorbikes and the high risk activities I partake, I’m WAY more likely to die on 2 wheels 🙂

Very dark chocolate and drinking strong cocoa (like Divine Cocoa for instance) are both ment to help lower blood pressure.

This is the UK website for accurately calculating your 10 year risk of something bad happening: QRISK2

According to that:

Your risk of having a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years is: 1%
In other words, in a crowd of 100 people with the same risk factors as you, 1 are likely to have a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years.

Your score has been calculated using the data you entered.
Your body mass index was calculated as 21.46 kg/m2.

How does your 10-year score compare?
Your 10-year QRISK®2 score 1%
The score of a healthy person with the same age, sex, and ethnicity* 0.8%
Relative risk** 1.2
Your QRISK® Healthy Heart Age*** 39

If I change my blood pressure to 110 and say I’m on meds for it my risk goes up to 1.6%

Very dark chocolate and drinking strong cocoa (like Divine Cocoa for instance) are both ment to help lower blood pressure.

If I have to give up coffee, wine and beer I’ll have to hit the dark chocolate hard to compensate.

An update…

Dropped my weekly record of BPs into the GPs on Friday. Average of the week systolic was 144 and average diastolic was 90.

The highest I recorded was 177/112. The lowest was 125/77, though that was 135/92 a minute later, so I suspect a dodgy reading.

That suggests medication is in order to me, as I can’t really make any lifestyle changes.