Blood pressure

I suppose a lot of factors would make a difference - age, weight, diet, etc., also any other medication. If the nurse wasn't concerned but you don't feel right, perhaps you should buy a home monitor. Take the readings twice a day, when you're relaxed and sitting down, and keep a record of the readings for a couple of weeks.

I'm doing just that. My BP has been high (more than yours on some occasions), but the GP said to monitor it and they'll look again at the end of the year (I'm not on BP tablets)

My BP I’ve been told is high and I’ve had to wear a BP monitor for 24 hrs. I am going to be told the result next week.

I will be interested to hear the result as I have been caring for a close relative, who has recently become totally bed ridden and doubly incontinent, together with another relative who has gone into melt down because of this.

I am sure that stress has had a detrimental effect. But not sure if it would be sensible to hope for the best or if advised to start taking BP medication, which I am very loathe to do.

I will be interested to see what the dr says.

Yes the advise to get a monitor and record your bp then take it to the surgery if you are concerned is sensible.

Several times my GP has had me record my BP night and morning for a week. The average is then worked out. They will only treat if its 150/90. So far, although I've had some very high highs, I've also had some pretty low ones so I averaged out at 146/79.
I'm to do it again in November. I get very stressed doing it. After I finished my weeks recording, just for fun I took it again - 111/69!!

While my readings at the surgery are fairly high even taking bp tablets, they are not when monitored with a 24 hr recording. Reading my bp sheet it does go up and down during the day according to activity and state of mind. But in your case nothing to worry about.

There is such a thing called 'white coat syndrome' my husband has this too. BP readings when taken in the surgery can be high in affected individuals which is why one off BP readings are unreliable. Clinicians will want more readings over a period of time sometimes via a 24 hour period so try not to worry. I have been on BP meds since I was 25 and once you get onto the one that suits you there should be no ill effects. Rarely does a raised BP itself give any symptoms. Have a look at www. NHS Choices for more detailed advice.

I wouldn’t worry. You rarely get headaches unless blood pressure is way over what yours was. Mine is often that sort of reading. Being concerned about your reading is a more likely cause of your feelings at the moment. Just keep watch and it’s really a good idea to have a BP monitor at home, a decent one, then you can OCCASIONALLY check. I have one but only do it from time to time. ?

Mine goes through the roof at the surgery. They never seem too concerned.

Just to add. Mine is an Omron M4-1. I’ve had it for a log time and it’s good. I notice it’s the one our practice nurse uses.

I don’t just get anxious at the doctors, I get it at home as well! I have to take it about three times before I get a decent reading!

I have White Coat Syndrome !
Every time I have my BP taken at the surgery, it shoots up - especially when I see one particular doctor!
I also have a problem with the new automatic BP machines - that I think stems from when I was in hospital after a fall and the cuff around my arm (and bingo wings) was so tight, it was painful - they tried it on my left arm that I had at one point dislocated the elbow and I was nearly climbing off the bed and in tears it was so painful! So every time I have the cuff put on, I automatically tense up and I have to request they use the old manual ones.

Mine has always been low too, Peonyrose, as has daughter's and sister's. I am on beta blockers, though, having to had 3 stents put in in 2016. Had a scary dizzy spell last year and meds were halved with no recurrence until I had a bad chest infection followed by more dizzy spells. Monitored BP for a week prior to GP appt but it was consistently around 120/ over something. It shot up to around 140/something when the GP did it. We agreed it was white coat syndrome - as someone above has already suggested - and nothing to worry about anyway!

A year ago I was seen by a locum at our surgery. When he took my BP he barked out "sit still, don't talk and don't fidget!". I did as I was told and afterwards he showed me the reading and said "there -look at that - well done!".
Despite his, shall we say unusual, bedside manner, (not to mention multiple piercings) he was very thorough and identified a potentially serious problem which one of the regular GPs had on two occasions dismissed as Nurofen headache. I was so grateful to that locum.

My point is, that sitting with your legs crossed, moving etc. can all produce false readings.

I used to wonder why my BP was massively higher at the GP than at home ( I have really good omron monitors). In the end I worked out that their plastic chairs are a struggle for me to stop myself sliding out and are too high anyway so my feet are not firmly on the ground. So a reading that was meant to be "resting" was anything but. Also you're not meant to be interacting socially when taking your reading, but at the GP you're working on being pleasant and communicating and being understood - none of which is resting. Nowadays I refuse readings at the GP and just promised them I am doing it at home. Get yourself an Omron upper arm monitor and sit in the chair that needs the least effort to sit in.

DH was told to take readings 4 times a day for a week and put them on a chart, always while resting. I then put it on a spreadsheet and worked out the averages. This gave a far better picture than in the surgery. That was years ago so I followed that advice before going to the GP last week, mine is low.

Various meds can cause low BP, including beta blockers so always wise to check if you take something new.

Interesting that your systolic changed but not diastolic, mine is a lot lower.

I have white coat syndrome too! In fact, in my practice if one of the GPs gets a high BP reading, you get sent to the nurse for another go, as he's known to put people's BP up!

I've been having tablets for hypertension for about 12 years now. The received wisdom on the NHS site and so on is that you don't normally get noticeable symptoms from high BP. I think this is why they monitor it when you go to see the GP about anything else. GPs don't usually act on an isolated high reading - when mine was up, I was advised to get a home monitor, and record readings for a week and take in the list I've made. They're only really interested in the highest readings, and mine are usually in the right range at home.

If you're concerned, it's definitely worth making an appointment with the GP to discuss - they should be able to set your mind at rest.

A diastolic of 78 is a tad too high. You do need more than one reading to "even" it out.

Peonyrose - if your surgery waiting room has scales with blood pressure monitor, which they likely will have, pop in once a week for the next month and take your readings. It is easy to do and you get 2 print outs ( one for you, one for GP/nurse) which give your weight/height/BP/pulse/BMI calculations. If these are still of concern to you then make a GP appointment to check.

You don't need to make an appointment to do this.

As someone has said lots of factors to a slight increase. Dehydration could be cause of headaches too so try drinking more water first.

I agree with taking your own BP regularly over, say, two weeks and then see your GP for a review, especially if your headaches and dizziness persist. Try to identify if there is a pattern for these- the more evidence you present the better. BP tends to rise with age but there are other parts of the picture to consider, so a blood test for cholesterol and its components including triglycerides and kidney function is something I have annually as I am on BP tablets and statins to manage symptoms which arose as a result of having PCOS, menopause, post menopause( having PCOS causes women to be more at risk of heart problems adn diabetes) and genetic factors, not to mention having had a stressful job !

Molly10. I don't know where you live but we certainly don't have equipment like that in our surgery and i've never seen or heard of it anywhere else. Blood pressure varies during the day and as a nurse I would say if the nurse isn't worried about it then don't you worry. Headaches have many causes, high blood pressure is only one of them, and not a good guide to anything.

Mines generally 135/95 only varying very slightly never goes up at the drs or hospital our surgery waiting room doesn’t have scales or blood pressure machine. Goodness me ours doesn’t even have a clock, it disappeared after two many complaints that the drs were running late, lol

Sara65 taking a reading 3 times is what my GP suggested. He said just sit and relax and take it 3 times over about a 10 minute period, then write down the average. He said the aim (at my age) is under 145/85, which I just about manage, usually. With the Omitron you get a big chart that you fill in with your results. If I'm going to the surgery, I just take that long so he can see how it's been.

We have the same equipment as Molly10 but unless you attend patient participation meetings you wouldn’t know about it.

Communication is always a bugbear within the NHS. It was highlighted at a practice meeting so the manager started a communications book but unfortunately forgot to tell anyone!

Paperbackwriter, other doctors advise simply discard the first reading rather than averaging it in. Then they want the average of all the second or third readings over the weeks.

I would also advise not taking a BP reading straight after putting the cuff on your arm. (For some reason I always get a high reading then)

I now apply the cuff then watch television or read something for 3 minutes before taking the reading. I do the best of 3.

I also have the white coat syndrome, also even taking my own BP, and even having done it for a job for 20 odd years!