Q: My blood pressure has been very stable without medication for the past year 106/69 -118/74. In the past month I have had a lot of stress and anxiety and my bp has been in the doctors office 190/90 and at home as high as 175/93 – 116/70. The doctor put me on Xanax for my anxiety. I was currently only taking a half tablet of 0.25 twice daily for a few days now and I have raised it to the whole tablet twice daily to see if I can get the bp back on track. Do you think I should discuss with the doctor about wearing a bp monitor for 24 hrs and see the results from that before I discuss medication options as I do not do meds well at all or should I try the Resperate and see what happens?
A: You and your doctor should decide the best treatment for your high blood pressure. Since you continue to have high blood pressure on anxiety lowering medication, in my opinion you need to make a follow-up appointment. Bring a record of the blood pressure readings you have recorded at home to discuss with your doctor. Mention the Resperate to your doctor. Many users have found it helps control anxiety. In addition, it has been clinically proven to lower high blood pressure without side effects.
Further Reading:
RESPeRATE – How It Works
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Iam 75 years old, did sport all my life and my pulse is on average around 49-52 per minute. For the last 15 years I suffer from high blood pressure which is directly related to my pulse rate:
In the morning, with a pulse rate of 49 , my blood pressure will be 175/92 or even higher. Once I do excercises like byking, my pulse rate goes up to 65 per minute or higher and my blood pressure drops to 125/80. Is this normal?
I have same problem, but my doctor telling me that pulse have no influance on BP
I am not a doctor, but I think this is not (quite)normal. It depends what your BP is doing once it has come down to 125/80 after exercise.
In healthy individuals BP should remain more or less the same even if pulse rates change. With some sports, such as weightliftign BP does go up considerabley during exertion, though. Generally BP may rise with physical exertion, then come down after exertion and, in healthy individuals, and I believe this is important, stays down.
In hypertensive people BP comes down after exertion and then rises again. Older people may have a lower pulse rate, with 49 being pretty low and may be more due to age than fitness. At 61 My waking pulse rate is 53 and I am keeping an eye on that. I was told by a nurse that in older people it can drop too low and cause ‘heart block’. however, she did not tell me how low ‘too low’ is.
In response to the original question: I would request a 24-hour monitor.
I have the same problem with stress and my doctor gave me Alprazolam (Xanax) to take as needed. I take 20mg of Lisinopril every day for BP. I have found that the Alprazolam works great if I only take it once in a while. If I take it more often, it has the opposite effect — I become more agitated and my BP rises.
Stop taking all medication and start exercising. Exercise is the best drug for anxiety – it burns off cortisol and increases breathing depth. By exercising I don’t mean walking – it should be higher intensity. Check with your doctor if you are fit higher intensity workout. Hire a certified personal trainer for 8-12 sessions to teach you the right way to exercise.
Doctors should not be pushing commercial products–it undermines their credibility.
I suffer high blood pressure which is kept under reasonable control with Perindropril and Beta Blockers. The Beta Blockers lower anxiety which in turn lowers blood preasure AND heart rate. My GP said thats fine as it eases the hearts load. I feel better within myself taking the Beta Blockers and much more relaxed than I have ever been.
As a top-up on the medication I use Resperate twice or three times a week which lowers my BP even further. I find the machine quite addictive.
After reading the above, I would like to make three suggestions:
1) A low Heart Rate does not cause heart block. Heart block can cause a low heart rate secondary to the heart block itself.
2) All people who exercise regularly may have a lower heart rate due to a well functioning heart muscle.
3) Routinely, pulse has no influence on Blood Pressure.
I just went to the dr on Fri to renew my meds I thought the nurse was going to have the heart attack when she took my bp. It was 220/90. Was I shocked as I have been on atenonol for years and was just to the dr early May and it was 130/90. I have been going to silver sneakers and zumba 4 times per week. I expected a great reading, however, the excercise has helped my aniexty and depression. I feel like a new person. So I guess he will adjust meds. Bought a new bp machine Omron 3series for 39.99 at Walmart and really like it. Pressure hasn’t been over 150/88 since.