"I was 90 last August "
Are you sexually active?
If so - congratulations.
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135/85 is generally considered the upper end of the scale for the average adult - the nurses may well have been right - unless of course you were feeling quite frisky for a 90 year old at the close proximity of nurses... :)
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You could be suffering from pre-eclampsia - are you sure you aren't 7+ months pregnant!!!
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There's a history of high BP in my family. But don't panic, because i) high blood pressure can be controlled and ii) yours might not actually be high at all.
Its not uncommon to get an unusually high result when your BP is tested - many people's heart rate goes up in response to being in a doctor's surgery, without their being especially aware of it. A repeat test will confirm the result, or you may be asked to wear a monitor over a day or so to make sure.
If your BP does turn out to be high, it could be caused by a number of factors: diet, exercise, age, family history or medical history. It can be controlled by minor lifestyle changes and medication, if appropriate. The most important thing is that you know about the condition so that you can address it - its untreated conditions that tend to cause trouble!
I must emphasise I'm not a medical doctor; this is my second-hand experience of the condition. If you're concerned, or feel unwell between now and your appointment, do talk to your GP.
All the best,
Gromit
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Its not uncommon to get an unusually high result when your BP is tested - many people's heart rate goes up in response to being in a doctor's surgery without their being especially aware of it.
I had precisely this happen to me recently. Went to hospital for a pre-assesment and blood pressure was roughly 145/106, they said come back in a few days to have it checked again. Went back a few days later and it was up still. they refered me back to my doctors to have it looked at. Within 30 minutes of leaving hospital i had it done at my GP's and it was 131/81.
Over the next couple of weeks i had it done several times at the GP surgery at is was fine everytime. It's called white coat hyper-tension.
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>>Its not uncommon to get an unusually high result when your BP is tested - many people's heart rate goes up in response to being in a doctor's surgery
Quite right Gromit. My doctor calls it the 'white coat effect'. I don't suffer from it myself as a rule, but he said many do. Such patients have to be allowed to relax and calm down for two or even three measurements. Trouble is doctors don't have that much time these days.
To the OP: high blood pressure is treatable and if the nurses who measured yours didn't send you in to the doctor to have something prescribed, they should have. If no one has done so yet, see the doctor yourself and ask him or her to treat any high blood pressure condition you may have.
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I have just had my pressure measured and I have discovered that it is 170/70.
Same as me then. I have been told to take more exercise, lose a bit of weight (13st. 6lbs ->12st.7), and drink less booze.
Try Googling for "isolated systolic hypertension".
I don't believe that you can be 90, BTW, but I agree about the other thing.
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I too had problems with BP. Someone suggested that I should change to Shell. That cured it.
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Sorry for taking so long to reply. I?ve been watching Countdown and I've just had a spot of dinner.
Big Bad Dave
I have not been sexually active since 1992 but I thank you for your concern. I still have the occasion urge and I suppose that if I were in the market someone like Carol Vordermann would be my type
Normd2
I?ll knock ?em over and you head ?em in. Not the girls, of course.
Daveyjp
I should have made it clear that I am an elderly gentleman and that I am not ?with child?. I should add that I find your knowledge of ?women?s issues? is quite disturbing.
Gromit
Thank you for your wise words.
Blue_haddock
I am familiar with white coat hypertension. Before having an operation to repair a damaged artery in my rectum I was fairly pooing myself.
Fotherington Thomas
I assure you I am 90 but I will take your feigned scepticism as a complement. I have looked up ?isolated systolic hypertension? and I have to say that it hasn?t really put my mind at ease. I think that I will give the medical centre a call and see if I can arrange an earlier appointment. I am now slightly concerned that there may be something wrong with my heart and I think that it would be better if I had a full medical asap.
OAP
I?m very happy for you.
Thank you for all your help.
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I don't believe that you can be 90 BTW but I agree about the other thing.
I'll be 104 next April. I haven't been sexually active since 1926, unless you count pigeon racing. And that afternoon with Mrs Mallard Struthers on the pier at Formby.
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As a sufferer from high BP I find it helps if you buy a DIY monitor ( Boots or similar). They might not be a 100% accurate,but over a period of time they will give a reasonable idea of what your BP is doing. I find it varies a lot during the day. And ditch the salt,I`ve found it`s easy after a while as a lot of foods already have a lot of salt in them. My doctor told me to stop eating bacon for example. It`s very salty, and the reduced salt one tastes like cardboard.Remember,only 6gms./day.
Fact is, my doctor wont let me have salt,my dentist wont let me have sugar,and the wife wont let me ...................!
--------------------------------
hurrying on- to a receding future
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>>on the pier at Formby.>>
Surely you mean Southport..:-)
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Surely you mean Southport..:-)
Does that kind of thing happen in Southport? I wish I'd known earlier.
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Just a tongue in cheek comment - there's no pier in Formby..:-)
My other half has suffered from high blood pressure for 40 years or more - it's meant she has suffered a range of serious illnesses along with several major operations (over the past 15 years in particular), even though she was on blood pressure tablets from the time it was first discovered.
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Just a tongue in cheek comment - there's no pier in Formby..:-)
I know, I live near there.
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The exclamation marks indicate it was a tongue in cheek comment.
After my wife suffered pre-eclampsia during the latter stages of pregnancy where her BP reached 130/200 (this is not a typo) I learnt a few things about high BP. The basic hospital machine couldn't cope with such levels - it had to inflate the cuff to such an extent it produced an error every time.
Edited by daveyjp on 31/10/2007 at 20:21
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My wife and I both suffer from high blood pressure from time to time. Trying to sell a property at the moment doesn't help ;)
From the OPs comments, it seems that this may be the first time he has received such a diagnosis, not bad for 90!
I was diagnosed recently and was given an ECG and blood tests. Everything came out as normal/good but the high blood pressure remained. I had recently lost about a stone and a half in weight. I don't know if that had anything to do with it.
I was originally put on medication, but that reacted with me, so I told the GP who was happy for e to come off it. Since then the symptoms (headaches) have disappeared.
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I agree with Hugo about BigNose. He is obviously in very good nick. Doesn't mean he doesn't need to get his blood pressure treated though. Not everyone can do a ton, but he may be able to if he plays his cards right.
Foot Down BN!
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 31/10/2007 at 21:57
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I've a friend who will be 104 in a matter of days - you'd take him for 65-70 and he's still remarkably active and with a very quick brain.
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will be 104 in a matter of days - you'd take him for 65-70 <<
iv'e had a couple of friends like this (not 104 though, but perfectly healthy) who have gone to bed full of life... and never woken again. Not Heart attacks, just "natural causes" - never understood why? but it just happens.
Billy
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Husband had high BP and was given a monitor to wear for 24 hours by his GP- his highest level was at 2.30 am when asleep - never did find what he was dreaming about that night ......
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So ....... is BN our oldest Backroomer?
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I had heard it bandied about, in the hospital where I work, that an acceptable upper figure is one's age plus 100 but I think that would be a bit high. I am 3 stone overweight and my BP is 120/80, normally. Goodness knows how low it could be if I was a proper racing snake instead of a lard barrel! PS If you are trying to reduce your salt intake don't buy the delicious salted butter which has recently appeared in some super markets. Not just salted but actually has tiny grains of rock salt in it! Yummy but dangerous!
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Don't let them put you on Statins. And keep away from the TV.. :-)
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Don't let them put you on Statins.
Why?
I am currently at a BMI of 25.5, therefore overweight. My cholesterol was measured at a figure that, according to thw Quack, "would have been OK a couple of years ago, but not now". I am having, when I can buy it cheaply, yoghourt that contains "plant statins". Is this bad? Why?
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After 3 Heart attacks and a quadruple bypass, i've been takin Statins for years, (Pravastatin 40mg), been told that it is vital i take it, as it not only helps to keep Cholesterol down, but it also helps to prevent further heart attacks. In fact, new medical evidence was just released only a couple of weeks ago in the news, that stated that "Statins" continued to reduce Heart attacks in patients that had been taking them, for upto five years after they had stopped.
But,... the most important and powerfull drug you can take in the first minutes of having a heart attack is Aspirin, it has been stated that folk have a huge chance of survival if Aspirin is administered in the first 15 mins following an attack. I never leave home without them!, and i take a daily 75mg dose. Anyway, everybody over 50yrs "should" be taking a "low-dose" of Aspirin(75mg) daily, to help prevent Strokes/H/attacks, so my Cardiologist tells me!
Billy
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>>huge chance of survival if Aspirin is administered in the first 15 mins following an attack.>>
The dose recommended in such circumstances is normally 300mg.
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>>The dose recommended in such circumstances is normally 300mg.<<
Correct S,
300mg can save your life during/after an attack, however a daily dose of 300mg is too much too regularly, and can/will cause stomach problems, such as ulcers (which by the way if you already have, you should not take Aspirin except in an emergency!). A single 75mg dispersible tablet taken with food once a day, has been proved to reduce the clotability? of the blood sufficiently to significantly reduce Strokes/h.Attacks.
Billy (living proof of the above! ;-) )
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>>however a daily dose of 300mg is too much too regularly,>>
I didn't say that - I pointed out that that was the normal dose given (hopefully) within the first 15 minutes i.e. the time you mentioned. Afterwards, the daily dosage will be decided by a doctor or consultant.
My wife had a stroke 14 years ago and after the initial Heparin/Wafarin treatment has taken Aspirin ever since - it still didn't stop her needing a triple by-pass operation earlier this year. She also has to have dialysis three times a week.
Not much fun.
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>>A single 75mg dispersible tablet taken with food once a day
I?ve often wondered about the benefits of taking medication ?with food?. Does it really make any difference whether taken at a mealtime or at any other time, or is it that the thought of food might jog one?s memory?
Clk Sec
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I?ve often wondered about the benefits of taking medication ?with food?.
When taken on an empty stomach some medications can cause stomach problems.
--
L\'escargot.
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Thanks, L'escargot.
Clk Sec
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>>some medications can cause stomach problems.>>
Aspirin is particularly known for this with some people.
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>>I didn't say that <<
me knows that! - i was just agreeing with you, but at the same time trying to point out, so that anyone reading this, and maybe thinking of starting to take regular Aspirin, doesn't simply go to the medicine cabinet every morning and starts "popping one". Most Aspirin is routinely sold by Pharmacies in the 300mg version, and is what people are usually used buying without really taking that much notice. However (eventually!) the point i was trying to make is - if you are thinking of taking it daily, 300mg is too much, Ask for 75mg tablets or you will get the 300mg ones almost by default.
p.s
hope your wife recovers ok, your right not much fun, but (for me 2yrs on) well worth the post-op suffering! - new me almost.
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>>hope your wife recovers ok,>>
Thank you for your kindness - unfortunately it's just part of her problem and the main object of the NHS is to make her quality of life as good as possible.
By the way, if anyone says to me that the NHS is not as good as it used to be.....:-)
My wife has been/is being treated in hospitals in both Scotland and England and the level of care and treatment has always been of the highest standards.
Patients with "minor" ailments do tend to clog up the hospital system, but for the really serious illnesses it's as good, if not better, than anywhere in the world.
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>> A single 75mg dispersible tablet taken with food once a day has been proved to reduce the clotability? of the blood sufficiently to significantly reduce Strokes/h.Attacks. Billy (living proof of the above! ;-) )
But maker sure the aspirin is branded 'EC' - enteric coated - which is less harmful to the stomach and less likely to cause ulcers.
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"Why?"
My comment about statins was prompted by a close friend who, having a number of older friends who had experience of them, made enquiries when he was told he might need them himself. It quickly became a case of the more he knew, the less he wanted to know! They seem to be implicated in all sorts of things, especially liver damage, which can be irreversible.
I'm fortunate in having a brisk metabolism that seems to hoover up anything I can consume, and my only general rule is to avoid processed stuff, so I have butter on my toast and full-fat everything else. I weigh 10 stone and have a low BP and cholesterol, which I mention only to back up my contention that your body controls your cholesterol level, not your doctor! You may be able to tinker with it, but there is no substitute for a sensible diet of unprocessed food, lots to drink, and a bit of exercise. I imagine you'd be safe with the plant statins in yoghurt, though.
There is any amount of stuff on the web re. statins and side-effects, but I thought this discussion worth a read:
www.dipex.org/community/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=87
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I had another appointment with the doctor yesterday afternoon and I had my blood pressure retaken. Sadly, it was still the same - 170/70. She listened to my chest and made me blow in a doo-dah and then decided that she would put me on some new tablets. She smiled, led me to the door, and told me ?don?t worry pet? as if I were a Chihuahua. I?ve got to go back in couple of weeks to see if they have made any difference.
Now I was feeling slightly more chipper about my prognosis for the future until I got home and looked up the name of the pills on Wiki. They are called Indapamide and are for the treatment of congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure!!!
Well this was a bit of a blow to say the least. I have always thought that I had the heart of lion and rather hoped that I would die peacefully in my bed, preferably of a massive brain haemorrhage. One could say that I always preferred the thought of the human version of an ECU failure to the more messy and dramatic occurrence of a broken water pump.
The result of all this is that I am feeling a little low. What Churchill used to refer to as his ?little black dog? has been following me around all morning and no matter how much I try to kick the little fleabag it keeps reappearing after a good scratch.
This is quite troubling to me because I am not melancholic by nature and can?t abide self-pity. I think that I will go and have a lie down. I will think about friends long gone and girls of my youth. I will watch ?Come Dancing? later on and jeer at the little bald bloke. That?ll make me feel better.
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>>I will watch ?Come Dancing? later on and jeer at the little bald bloke.>>
Ah, but Dom Littlewood has the advantage of holding an attractive lady very closely...:-)
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