High blood pressure..or not

[Aussieroaming]

Hi

I was prescribed HTC for high blood pressure last year, which I take daily. Blood pressure was very bad 175/125 and created a bit of a stir.

I recently bought a blood pressure device to monitor it. My BP now is generally about 145/90 without pills and is about 125/55 when I am on the prescription.

I exercise a lot, gave up smoking 6 months ago and cut my alcohol consumption to minimal I.e generally less than once a fortnight now.

So given that I've changed my lifestyle and my blood pressure dropped to the 140's I would like to know if I could stop the pills and keep up with just the lifestyle changes. The 125/55 actually makes me dizzy when I stand up too quickly.

Thanks for any advise.

[Sheryl]

When you say your BP is 145/90 "without pills", how long were you off them at that point?

[Aussieroaming]

Hi Sheryl

I only stopped taking the pills for a couple of days..I wasn't confident that the 145 / 90 reading was healthy or not. But I did the test twice and had the same range reading.

Thanks

[NE1]

If you are feeling dizzy then you need to report back to your doctor , explain the low blood pressure and he may half your dosage.

Edited September 6, 2014 by NE1

[Sheryl]

Yes I was going to ask what your dosage was.

145/90 is higher than desirable though at the low end of hypertensive. I suspect that if you stayed off the meds, it would drift higher after a week or so.

If you are on say 50 mg then cutting the dosage to 25 might be in order.

[lopburi3]

My layman experience is you might want to keep track of your pulse also as for me that seems to cause issues when getting up and first few steps if goes below about 50. Also there are many medications available so another might have less dizzy effect for you (note it is listed as very common for that drug).

[rak sa_ngop]

There was a report I read on the BBC not so long ago that higher blood pressures are 'normal' for older people. I don't recollect the exact numbers but I believe if you are over 60 years old pressures up to 150/xx are still not considered abnormal.

[Aussieroaming]

Hi thanks for the replies.

Yes I will cut my dosage rate and keep monitoring my BP and pulse rate on the BP machine.

I'm not sure that the lifestyle changes have had the positive effect I was hoping for but I've enjoyed the changes anyway.

Thanks again

[NE1]

I would consult with your doctor before cutting your dosage.

[Camelot]

If your diastolic blood pressure drops much below 60, you are in danger of fainting. If that happens, every time you recover and try to stand up, your pressure will drop again and you may fall and could pass out again. This happened to me and I got a broken nose out of it. At 55 you're on the threshold. Don't risk it. Suggest checking with your doctor about reducing the dosage or changing the medication.

[CM4Me]

Below is an unaltered extract from Mayo Clinic's website:

Blood pressure measurements fall into four general categories:

• Normal blood pressure. Your blood pressure is normal if it's below 120/80 mm Hg. However, some doctors recommend 115/75 mm Hg as a better goal. Once blood pressure rises above 115/75 mm Hg, the risk of cardiovascular disease begins to increase.
• Prehypertension. Prehypertension is a systolic pressure ranging from 120 to 139 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure ranging from 80 to 89 mm Hg. Prehypertension tends to get worse over time.
• Stage 1 hypertension. Stage 1 hypertension is a systolic pressure ranging from 140 to 159 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure ranging from 90 to 99 mm Hg.
• Stage 2 hypertension. More severe hypertension, stage 2 hypertension is a systolic pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher or a diastolic pressure of 100 mm Hg or higher.

Both numbers in a blood pressure reading are important. But after age 60, the systolic reading is even more significant. Isolated systolic hypertension — when diastolic pressure is normal but systolic pressure is high — is a common type of high blood pressure among people older than 60.