High Blood Pressure - reducing using diet and exercise

The people I know with high blood pressure, all pour in and on, far too much salt.

It does seem to help when they change that.

I think you already know the answers PinkCosmos - cut down the alcohol, lose weight and eat less. I agree with cornergran about relaxation exercises. Since I retired, my blood pressure has reduced significantly, but every so often I get stressed. I don't follow a Mindfulness regime in its entirety, but I find controlled breathing really helps.

Hi. Yes WCS here too. My bp shot up when I was 52 going through the menopause. It scared the life out of me and caused a lot of stress. It was only discovered because we moved house and changed GP.
I tried everything I could, joined a gym lost 2.5 stone The GP assured me it would make a big difference and I wouldn’t need medication. He was wrong, it made no difference at all, he just said “ there’s always one “ I started taking Losartan I was very worried about side effects but fortunately I’ve had none and it’s been great, my BP has been normal now for the last 13 years I’m now 67.
You may not need medication it’ll depend what the monitor reads, but try not to worry lots of people take BP medication successfully.

PinkCosmos I would second Cressida’s comment about getting a home BP monitor. My husband’s GP urged him to get one and measure his BP 3 times a day over a fortnight, which gives a much more accurate picture than a one day snap shot.
We do this every 3 months and email the results to the surgery ( on my home made spreadsheet!) and he gets a call if there’s anything out of ‘normal for him’ range.

Another white cost person here, daft as I worked in primary care for many years and my head certainly isn’t anxious about having my BP taken. My home monitor was checked at the surgery and agreed to be accurate. Before appointments I keep a daily note of BP and take it with me, the GP practice and most hospital staff are happy enough to take an average from that.

If surgery requires a lower BP to be recorded I find relaxation/Mindfulness exercises (I listen to some from my phone ) after a chat with someone about everyday things brings the reading down enough. I do warn the staff so I have time for relaxation and and I’ve never been refused a procedure

Worrying will make it worse pinkcosmos. We have many friends who take BP meds as does Mr C, properly prescribed it’s unlikely your BP would drop dangerously. As mine is OK when nowhere near a medic my GP does not want to prescribe meds for me, as she says they aren’t not necessary for day to day life. The BP monitor results will inform your surgery staff and I’m sure you’ll be well advised then. In the meantime if you want to make sensible changes for your general health then do but please don’t make yourself miserable. Good luck. Let us know how things settle down.

I, too, suffer from White Coat Hypertension. It's something I've been aware I have for almost 50 years. after being hospitalised due to high blood pressure when expecting my 2nd child.

It's something that is now in my hospital notes. Since 2000 I have had 3 operations and the only difference it has made is that instead of a day op I have been booked for an overnight stay.

I've never been prescribed medication. Whether you need it will depend on what the 24 hour BP test shows. Getting a home BP monitor will help you as you can monitor it yourself .

I would be interested to know what your readings were.

I sympathise. I have been on BP meds for over 30 years. Most people I know are on them - my husband, sisters, brother, brothers-in-law, some friends. Most of us have never had side effects.

I have terrible white coat syndrome too. I had a call from the surgery in December to get it checked. I said I was too anxious. They agreed I could take some readings myself and then ring for an appointment to get it checked. I only have to look at the machine and it shoots through the roof. I have taken some ok readings but I know when I go there it will be off the scale so I haven't rung.

I have taken all the advice on Gransnet previous threads to no avail. I wish you luck.