Medical The effects of high blood pressure transient

[waht]

If the blood pressure jumps from a long term pre-hypertension stage (140/90) to 175/110 for ten hours, and then calms down to pre-hypertension stage again, are there any long term effects on the body for sustaining such high blood pressure?

From what I've been able to find out, high blood pressure screws up internal organs. Is tens hours of high blood pressure enough to cause any irreversible damage?

 

[berkeman]

If the blood pressure jumps from a long term pre-hypertension stage (140/90) to 175/110 for ten hours, and then calms down to pre-hypertension stage again, are there any long term effects on the body for sustaining such high blood pressure?

From what I've been able to find out, high blood pressure screws up internal organs. Is tens hours of high blood pressure enough to cause any irreversible damage?

I would think that the more important thing to ask is what is it that caused the jump? When is your doc appointment?

 

[hypatia]

Several things come to mind, the your arteries are most directly affected. Both the eyes and brain features an advanced network of blood vessels. Short blasts of high blood pressure, can give you a greater the chance of damage.

The heart also works harder if the pressure is high. Then their is always kidney failure. Many who receive dialysis are there because their blood pressure.

So yes, seek medical help for any kind of blood pressure problems.

 

[Astronuc]

If the blood pressure jumps from a long term pre-hypertension stage (140/90) to 175/110 for ten hours, and then calms down to pre-hypertension stage again, are there any long term effects on the body for sustaining such high blood pressure?

From what I've been able to find out, high blood pressure screws up internal organs. Is tens hours of high blood pressure enough to cause any irreversible damage?

That's a significant warning sign that something is very wrong. BP of 175/110 is very worrisome - but for 10 hrs?! If one did not have a stroke, one is fortunate! The effects of a stroke are generally irreversible - and worse - could be fatal, especially if the stroke is in the medula or brain stem.

If one spikes in blood pressure like that - seek medical attention immediately! With BP of 175/110, one should be at the ER!

Normal BP should be 110/70. Normal 140/90 is not good. Higher than that is potentially life threatening.

 

[Count Iblis]

That's a significant warning sign that something is very wrong. BP of 175/110 is very worrisome - but for 10 hrs?! If one did not have a stroke, one is fortunate! The effects of a stroke are generally irreversible - and worse - could be fatal, especially if the stroke is in the medula or brain stem.

If one spikes in blood pressure like that - seek medical attention immediately! With BP of 175/110, one should be at the ER!

Normal BP should be 110/70. Normal 140/90 is not good. Higher than that is potentially life threatening.

You just made Waht's blood pressure skyrocket again.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I was just at the doctor and my BP was 148/83. I'm going to get it tested again in a couple weeks.

 

[waht]

It's easy to say seek medical attention, forums is not to be used for diagnosis I agree with that. But I've been visiting many doctors before in the past year, and frankly I hope they all die. But I probably will before they do.

The last doc I went to carelessly prescribed me some pills, and I was too stupid to take them. I informed the doc that I'm on other medication, and that I'm in prehypertension stage. The doc was like "no problem, here you go" and gave me a prescription for something like a candy to a little kid. He didn't do any further investigation on me. Upon taking ONE pill, few hours later my heart started pounding, and blood pressure went through the roof (175/110) for half a day. Later I checked the medication he prescribed me specifically raises one's blood pressure.

I always exercise regularly, and vigorously. I eat healthy food, drink lots of water, avoid salt/sodium as much as possible, don't smoke, don't drink. Yet these doctors can't figure what the heck is going on. Perhaps I can forgive that, but what I can't forgive is none of the doctors I've visited have shown any initiative to investigate my health. They wait until I ran out of things to say, prescribe pills, and quickly end office visits. I'm sick and tired of this.

Really sorry for the rant, I'm just frustrated, I'm signing out.

 

[Proton Soup]

it sounds as though you worry a lot. perhaps anxiety is contributing to your pre-hypertension.

and besides the exercise, i assume you have also dieted off any fat, take some fish oil, eat plenty of veggies to get your potassium, etc...

 

[AyazM]

That looks like to be malignant hypertension and tens of hours may be enough to cause internal damage. So is that you who's the patient? I just stated in another thread that what patients usually subconsciously want is a plain explanation, and reassurance. Nobody is stupid enough to simply believe what's been said here for prescription, but a plain reassurance is very helpful.

Can you kindly tell what was your new and old prescriptions? You'd be frustrated more to hear I'm still going to tell you to visit your physician because that's the only tangible option you have. Which physicians have you been visiting of late? General Practitioners?

For your information, here are the ACUTE treatment options for your immediate high blood pressure: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/241640-treatment

Of course you are not going to do that yourself because they are all administered intravenous. :)

 

[Astronuc]

I always exercise regularly, and vigorously. I eat healthy food, drink lots of water, avoid salt/sodium as much as possible, don't smoke, don't drink. Yet these doctors can't figure what the heck is going on. Perhaps I can forgive that, but what I can't forgive is none of the doctors I've visited have shown any initiative to investigate my health. They wait until I ran out of things to say, prescribe pills, and quickly end office visits. I'm sick and tired of this.

Really sorry for the rant, I'm just frustrated, I'm signing out.

Someone I know is in much the same situation. BP has slowly been increasing and recently spiked >180/110. She has never smoked, drinks alcohol moderately (but infrequently), minimzes salt, exercises moderately. She seen doctors for years and they haven't figured a cause, although they suspected an endocrine problem. Now she is seeing a hematologist and another specialist, and is on new medication to moderate her BP.

 

[Evo]

High blood pressure is considered 140/90. There are many reasons for it and the best thing to do if it is routinely that high is to go on blood pressure medicine, a bit of excersize (don't over do it), and have your cholesterol checked, although Astronuc recently posted an article that said cholesterol may not be that significant of a factor in heart disease anymore.

I have developed very high blood pressure, but have been told that my arteries are squeaky clean. It's important to determine the condition of your arteries. A blocked artery is what will kill you.

Although I'm wondering how they determined my arteries were clear. I don't remember any specific test they did. Hmmmm.

 

[Integral]

I would suspect that it is all about cholesterol levels, if your cholesterol is low then they would assume clean arteries.

The danger of very high BP with low cholesterol is the increased likelihood of a aneurysm. These are most likly to occur in the small veins within the brain and are usually fatal.

 

[berkeman]

I was just at the doctor and my BP was 148/83. I'm going to get it tested again in a couple weeks.

BP testing boxes are inexpensive, Greg. Try to buy one that takes your BP on the way up, if possible. Your doc will appreciate having a list of your typical BPs over the course of several days or weeks, taken at different time of the day. That will be the most helpful thing you can do for your doc and yourself.

 

[berkeman]

It's easy to say seek medical attention, forums is not to be used for diagnosis I agree with that. But I've been visiting many doctors before in the past year, and frankly I hope they all die. But I probably will before they do.

The last doc I went to carelessly prescribed me some pills, and I was too stupid to take them. I informed the doc that I'm on other medication, and that I'm in prehypertension stage. The doc was like "no problem, here you go" and gave me a prescription for something like a candy to a little kid. He didn't do any further investigation on me. Upon taking ONE pill, few hours later my heart started pounding, and blood pressure went through the roof (175/110) for half a day. Later I checked the medication he prescribed me specifically raises one's blood pressure.

I always exercise regularly, and vigorously. I eat healthy food, drink lots of water, avoid salt/sodium as much as possible, don't smoke, don't drink. Yet these doctors can't figure what the heck is going on. Perhaps I can forgive that, but what I can't forgive is none of the doctors I've visited have shown any initiative to investigate my health. They wait until I ran out of things to say, prescribe pills, and quickly end office visits. I'm sick and tired of this.

Really sorry for the rant, I'm just frustrated, I'm signing out.

What was the newly prescribed medication? Did you tell the doc about the problem afterwards?

 

[Evo]

I would suspect that it is all about cholesterol levels, if your cholesterol is low then they would assume clean arteries.

The danger of very high BP with low cholesterol is the increased likelihood of a aneurysm. These are most likly to occur in the small veins within the brain and are usually fatal.

My dad died of a massive stroke when he was 53.

 

[Count Iblis]

The father of a friend of mine has a coarctation the aorta causing extremely high blood pressure. He had this from his birth, but it was only discovered when he was 40. The fact that his blood pressure was high was known when he was yonger, but the cause was not known.

The problem is that this problem cannot be corrected via an operation once you are over the age of about 20, due to the very high risk of cerebral hemorrhage during the operation. Apparently this risk increases dramatically with age.

Anyway, his bloodpressure is controlled by drugs and is usually 180/70 when he is doing well. But sometimes it becomes above 200 like 230/70. In his case the blood pressure cannot get much lower than 180, because the lower part of his body needs to have blood too. On the positive side: He is 79 years old and in perfect physical fitness for someone of his age.

 

[Astronuc]

My dad died of a massive stroke when he was 53.

He may have had hypertension, which went untreated.

 

[Evo]

I believe that the diastolic pressure (the lower number) is the one to be most concerned about. The systolic (upper number) is not as important and is more influenced by things like pain, stress, etc...

 

[Astronuc]

I believe that the diastolic pressure (the lower number) is the one to be most concerned about. The systolic (upper number) is not as important and is more influenced by things like pain, stress, etc...

Correct. Systolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart beats. It is shown as the top number in a blood pressure reading.

FYI - What Are High Blood Pressure and Prehypertension?
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/hbp/whathbp.htm

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure - Complete Report
JNC 7 Complete Report: The Science Behind the New Guidelines
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/jnc7full.htm

Besides stress and being overweight (related to cholestrol and type 2 lipids), other causes of high blood pressure may be thyroid problem, kidney problem, diabetes/pre-diabetes. Of course, age is a factor. Older folks like my mom have hardened arteries or arteriosclerosis, as well as atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up inside one's arteries.

My sister's (doctor) recommendation is to find an internist who has an interest/specialty in treating high blood pressure (and pre-hypertension), and ideally with some background/knowledge of kidney disease/problems, thyroid problems, diabetes or if not, has connections with another doctor who does.

If one is pre-hypertensive, then discuss the matter with the 'right' doctor, and cut back on caffeine, and probably salt.

 

[waht]

BP testing boxes are inexpensive, Greg. Try to buy one that takes your BP on the way up, if possible. Your doc will appreciate having a list of your typical BPs over the course of several days or weeks, taken at different time of the day. That will be the most helpful thing you can do for your doc and yourself.

I got one of those electronic wrist BP meters. For past six months I've never gone below 140/90. I've also had other people measure themselves just see if it gives accurate readings. And yes indeed, it gives accurate and reliable readings.

What was the newly prescribed medication? Did you tell the doc about the problem afterwards?

The medication was for allergies. I had a gut feeling not to trust the doc, but I did unfortunately. Even the nurse in the office measured my BP, and it was high. The doc said I was probably nervous, or had too much coffee. But I wasn't nervous, and never drink coffee. I told the doc about my long term BP being high, and he laughed it off and said home meters aren't really reliable (that was the first red flag).

He then prescribed me new pills "Allegra D" 120 mg dose for a horse and without doing any further testing. The pill caused my heart to pound, it was hard to breath, and BP almost doubled, and stayed that way for many hours.

this is from allegra website

Headache, drowsiness, increased heart rate, palpitations, increased blood pressure, and abnormal heart rhythms have been reported. You should also tell your doctor if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, glaucoma, thyroid disease, impaired kidney function, or symptoms of an enlarged prostate such as difficulty urinating.

My dad died of a massive stroke when he was 53.

I'm sorry Evo.

You just made Waht's blood pressure skyrocket again.

It's maxed out already.

Correct. Systolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart beats. It is shown as the top number in a blood pressure reading.

Thanks so much for the valuable information, and links.

 

[berkeman]

He then prescribed me new pills "Allegra D" 120 mg dose for a horse and without doing any further testing. The pill caused my heart to pound, it was hard to breath, and BP almost doubled, and stayed that way for many hours.

this is from allegra website

Headache, drowsiness, increased heart rate, palpitations, increased blood pressure, and abnormal heart rhythms have been reported. You should also tell your doctor if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, glaucoma, thyroid disease, impaired kidney function, or symptoms of an enlarged prostate such as difficulty urinating.

Interesting. My PDR from 2008 doesn't list the increased BP, it just lists heart palpitations. I wonder if that was added because of new research results.


EDIT -- I'm not minimizing what happened to you waht. Not at all -- that must have been very scary. I hope you are doing better now.

 

[Astronuc]

PDR is not necessarily complete, and it may reflect the information provided by the pharmaceutical company, which may be incomplete.

More resources:

http://www.foh.dhhs.gov/NYCU/hypertension.asp

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prehypertension/DS00788

http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/new-low-for-high-blood-pressure (references the Mayo Clinic site)

http://www.prehypertension.org/

 

[Evo]

The medication was for allergies. I had a gut feeling not to trust the doc, but I did unfortunately. Even the nurse in the office measured my BP, and it was high. The doc said I was probably nervous, or had too much coffee. But I wasn't nervous, and never drink coffee. I told the doc about my long term BP being high, and he laughed it off and said home meters aren't really reliable (that was the first red flag).

Apparently either your doctor prescribed the wrong medication or the pharmacy goofed. You are correct Allegra D is allergy medicine and is not for treating high blood pressure.

Did you confront him?

Also the reason that it made your heart race is that pseudoephedrine is the drug that they use to make illegal meth.

 

[lisab]

Apparently either your doctor prescribed the wrong medication or the pharmacy goofed. You are correct Allegra D is allergy medicine and is not for treating high blood pressure.

Did you confront him?

Also the reason that it made your heart race is that pseudoephedrine is the drug that they use to make illegal meth.

I had that same thought, Evo. They make Allegra without the pseudoephedrine - it's just Allegra (the d stands for decongestant).

 

[Evo]

I had that same thought, Evo. They make Allegra without the pseudoephedrine - it's just Allegra (the d stands for decongestant).

Even without, it was the wrong medicine. That doctor really messed up.

 

[Astronuc]

Coincidentally, this aired yesterday.

Hypertension: A Growing But Often Hidden Problem
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125217662

There are a number of factors, but the important thing is to find a capable doctor who takes pre-hypertension seriously.

 

[Integral]

My doctor was right on top of the change made in '02, dropping the optimal from 140 to 120. We starting looking for meds what would accomplish the change. As far as I am concerned we never found one that worked. While it was easy to drop the BP the side effects of the meds were unacceptable to me.

 

[Evo]

My doctor was right on top of the change made in '02, dropping the optimal from 140 to 120. We starting looking for meds what would accomplish the change. As far as I am concerned we never found one that worked. While it was easy to drop the BP the side effects of the meds were unacceptable to me.

I went through about 5-6 different meds before I found one that drops my blood pressure and has no side effects (for me). It really is hit or miss.

 

[waht]

Interesting. My PDR from 2008 doesn't list the increased BP, it just lists heart palpitations. I wonder if that was added because of new research results.

That's interesting, maybe it was added later:

Here is a link to their website: http://www.allegra.com/ where I quoted this from.

Apparently either your doctor prescribed the wrong medication or the pharmacy goofed. You are correct Allegra D is allergy medicine and is not for treating high blood pressure.

Did you confront him?

Even without, it was the wrong medicine. That doctor really messed up.

The medication was suppose to be for spring time allergies, not for lowering blood pressure. In my case, the medication had a side effect of increasing BP, and heart beat perhaps because of my existing prehypertension. I expected the doctor to know this.

Did I confront him? Yes, I called him and questioned his trade as being an incompetent doctor. Perhaps it was rude of me, but the doc didn't do nor suggested to do any tests. He completely dismissed signs of high blood pressure, and prescribed the medication just out of the blue. Wonder how he came up with Allegra out of so many other possible allergy medication. Needless to say it was a relief to call on him.

He apologized, and I said I won't be seeing him again.

Coincidentally, this aired yesterday.

Hypertension: A Growing But Often Hidden Problem
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125217662

This is quite alarming.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I got my pressure taken again and it was 113/67

 

[hypatia]

Thats a perfect BP for someone your age Greg.

 

[berkeman]

I got my pressure taken again and it was 113/67

That would be, um, after, right? Certainly not before.

 

[berkeman]

I got my pressure taken again and it was 113/67

BTW, there's a fundamental (traditional) problem with that BP. No worries for you Greg, but for the person who took your BP. Was it a newbie?

(Odd number BPs have been depricated for a while)

 

[Astronuc]

I got my pressure taken again and it was 113/67

Much better!

My normal BP is about 110/70 give or take. It's been as low as 85/60, after riding my bike to donate blood at the Red Cross. They declined because of low BP. So I went and ate lunch, drank a few cups of coffee, and went back with a slightly higher BP.

 

[AyazM]

Allegra is fexofenadine and Pseudoephedrine.

Now there's a serious misunderstanding here. Do you actually suffer from some allergic condition? Congestion in nose? Congestion in ears? Fexofenadine is perfectly fine ALONE but giving pseudoephedrine is like deliberately increasing your already high blood pressure. What was your doctor actually thinking of?

 

[waht]

Do you actually suffer from some allergic condition? Congestion in nose?

yes

What was your doctor actually thinking of?

About the check-out.

 

[Count Iblis]

If you use anti-histamines, you will get the opposite side effects.

 

[tkjtkj]

If the blood pressure jumps from a long term pre-hypertension stage (140/90) to 175/110 for ten hours, and then calms down to pre-hypertension stage again, are there any long term effects on the body for sustaining such high blood pressure?

From what I've been able to find out, high blood pressure screws up internal organs. Is tens hours of high blood pressure enough to cause any irreversible damage?

That even, by itself, would be very unlikely to cause significant damage. However, that is not to say that it shouldn't be investigated by a physician. I'd sure want to know why it happened but were it a 'situational episode of HTN' , id not worry. The definition of HTN is that it must be measured on at least 3 separate occasions by a medical professional. "White-coat Hypertension" (ie, anxiety in medical situations) is common. ;)
At the same time, a person's history, including age and presence of other conditions might impel serious investigation.
Talk with your doctor.

I am retired, have no Dr.-Patient relationship with anyone, and my comments here may only be taken in the framework of general discussion.

 

[AyazM]

If you use anti-histamines, you will get the opposite side effects.

They are mild if any.

Waht I would personally advise you to just stick with Fexofenadine (Many brand names; one is Telfast). It's a 2nd generation antihistamine which means it won't enter your brain and therefore side-effects on brain are minimized. For your allergy, this'd be a very good medication.

 

[Count Iblis]

A long time ago, I was quite ill after using an antihistamine. My heart rate became too slow, which was particularly noticeable after (light) exertion. I almost collapsed a few times with a heart rate of lower than 40 bpm while walking.

 

[waht]

A long time ago, I was quite ill after using an antihistamine. My heart rate became too slow, which was particularly noticeable after (light) exertion. I almost collapsed a few times with a heart rate of lower than 40 bpm while walking.

Do anti-histamines actually lower blood pressure?

 

[Proton Soup]

Allegra is fexofenadine and Pseudoephedrine.

Now there's a serious misunderstanding here. Do you actually suffer from some allergic condition? Congestion in nose? Congestion in ears? Fexofenadine is perfectly fine ALONE but giving pseudoephedrine is like deliberately increasing your already high blood pressure. What was your doctor actually thinking of?

i believe the version with pseudoephedrine is branded as Allegra-D (for decongestant), but the original version is just Allegra.

a compromise might be to just take Allegra (or one of the generics available now) and only take a decongestant when you really need it.

 

[Count Iblis]

Do anti-histamines actually lower blood pressure?

Not sure about that in general, but if you get the side effects I got, then it will definitely lower blood pressure...

 

[Count Iblis]

You can also cauterize your nasal concha. You're nose will be free without having to use any medicines. At least, that's my experience. The operation is done under local anesthesia, and takes only half an hour (the actual operation takes less than a minute, the half an hour is needed for the nose to be properly anesthetized).

 

[tkjtkj]

I observe that, although I've implied that i am a retired physician, not one person has commented on my own contributions here. I can only surmise that there is some 'anti-doc' bias here, which impels me to leave this discussion. I am sorry not to have offered helpful commentary.

tkjtkj, md <ret>