53, high blood pressure

[Librarian]

Mom agrees

Since losing 32 pounds and cutting out alcohol I now only need one BP medication. My son lost 25lbs, gave up alcohol and caffeine and is 47. His weight is perfect and he exercises daily. He still needs his BP medication.

She is an RN. She maintains a healthy weight & is active--she has needed BP meds since her 50s. So I wasn't surprised when I recently needed them.

Once this 2 feet of snow melts & it's consistently above 30 again, gonna get this body moving again--seriously took that for granted before. I've been stretching & lifting weights & I rarely sit at work, but I am looking for some real cardio.

 

[target2019]

Curious about your experiences around high blood pressure. I'm only 53 and otherwise in very good health, but last week my Dr started treating me for hypertension.

There is some family history on my mom's side, but generally they all went on medication in their late 60s or 70s.

I had Covid last March and got over it pretty quickly ("mild" symptoms but definitely not your average flu!), but have never felt quite right since. I've occasionally had a pounding heart and the feeling of high blood pressure. I thought it was due to stress and/or drinking too much booze here & there during lockdown etc. I see a cognitive therapist and have struggled with anxiety as well, so I'm fairly accustomed to my patterns around that. This just feels different.

My job HAS been incredibly stressful over the past year, so maybe it's just the wake up call I need to finally leave, but I can't help thinking this is very odd--again, given my age.

Thoughts & experiences?

50 is about the time it hit me. Yes, history of men dropping early in my family (even in 40's). Yes, idiot-filled workplace. Yes, one older brother died at 53.

What I've found over the years is that a general MD may or may not have what it takes to keep you stable. So in the time since then I've had 3 GP's. When I got to the 3rd I noticed there was a Cardiologist in same building, same health system. It's been about 3 years, and the care is much different than previous.

There is definitely a relationship between viruses and the damage to several organs that occurs in some.

 

[JoeWras]

I always thought since my job was stressful that is what caused my high BP. I have found out that isn't true. My job may have been a contributing factor at the time, but I do not think it was the cause of my high BP. I don't miss my job at all so I never think about it anymore. I just have high BP, that's all there is to it.

My high BP continued in the years after I retired. I retired in 2016. It's just the way it is. I can't tell you why. So I take my medication, keep alcohol consumption very low, and monitor my BP on a regular basis . I accept my high BP for what it is.

This is typically true. We try to explain away the high BP.

However, in my case, my BP actually did lower after I retired! I can clearly document this because of my blood donation history. With this, I have a long string of BP records. While working, I was always in the "borderline" range. 6 months after I retired, my BP started drifting down and is now solidly below 120, a drop on the systolic of about 20. Whatever is happening in retirement is good for my BP. It might be what I'm eating too, I don't know. I'm just happy about it.

 

[ERObjd]

Tred to lower my BP with hawthorn berry, which did not work,tried Beet root, which failed to do much ,horse chestnut extract,eating celery every day.. did not change much.Taking a powder called called Cal Mag fizz ..which is a magnesium calcium drink did work pretty well....better than beet root.. but finally had to go on Diovan which keeps my BP at about 130/85.very seldom does it fall to so called normal 120/80.my doc does not worry about it and says my normal stays around 130-135/85 -90 not to worry about it.I also have white coat hyper tension as well.I would rather have been able to manage it with hawthorne or beet root but was not up to the task.BP can kill you so I went on Diovan which gets my BP low enough.if doc is satisfied then so am I

 

[jldavid47]

Do you exercise? My blood pressure started creeping up and I was able to lower it by beginning a regular exercise program. No gym, just walking and doing low-stress strength building exercises.



I have also noticed that my blood pressure readings look like they have been generated by a random number generator. They can be all over the place depending on time of day, what I had for lunch, whether I've exercised or not, etc. My doctor says I also have "white coat syndrome." My blood pressure can be perfectly normal (I have a device to measure it) then one hour later it can be 20-30 points higher if I'm sitting in a medical office. My doctor told me to trust the readings I take at home since that's where I am just about all the time and if those get too high then come back. YMMV

 

[doneat54]

Oddly, I never had a BP issue UNTIL I retired, exercised more frequently (I hike 500+ miles a year) and lost 25 lbs. THEN, my BP went up. Not a lot, but enough that my PCP put me on moderate meds for it. They work and I swear, since being on them, I don't have the sleep problems I used to have.

 

[Dash man]

My blood pressure started creeping up in my late forties. I got it under control with no problem for a few years. I lost a few pounds and started walking a lot after I retired and was down to a very low dose of one medication. About two years ago my BP sky rocketed to around 190/105. Nothing changed in my life to cause it, but it took four strong medications to get it down to normal again after that. Things have stabilized over the past year and my BP is under control again. Needless to say, I watch it closely.