Is 150/68 High Blood Pressure?

[Distortion]

I ran a search and came up with far too many results to get a good answer. I had my blood pressure checked today and it was 150/68, the guy said it was a bit high. I know the first number is a bit on the high end, but i was reading that the second number is more important?

 

[MikeMartial]

Don't sweat it; chances are, you had a case of "white coat syndrome", and the anxiety (perceived or not) temporarly increased your systolic pressure.

The second number, your diastolic pressure, is more important. Simply put, this is the pressure of your vessels and heart while it's in it's "relaxed state".

High diastolic pressures are usually indicaters of cardiac and/or respiratory diseases.

The best way to find out your true blood pressure is to take multiple readings over multiple days. Not really practical, though. In most physician's offices, they'll take a reading, wait 5 minutes, then take another.

Btw----I took my own BP just yesterday at the drugstore: 142/70. I'm normally 120/60

 

[musclemom]

Don't sweat it; chances are, you had a case of "white coat syndrome", and the anxiety (perceived or not) temporarly increased your systolic pressure.

The best way to find out your true blood pressure is to take multiple readings over multiple days. Not really practical, though. In most physician's offices, they'll take a reading, wait 5 minutes, then take another.

Outstanding advice. You can buy a very nice automatic blood pressure machine/cuff at Walmart for about $60, it's worth it. The BEST gauge of your blood pressure is multiple reading taken over the course of several days.

 

[guest username]

Musclemom gives great advice. Multiple readings are the best, but new research is showing that multiple readings throughout the day are the best. Some people who underwent an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring study became hypertensive throughout the day, including during the night while asleep.

150 is a high systolic pressure. 68 is a normal diastolic pressure. That's a fairly widened pulse pressure (80 mmHg). I hope someone placed a stethoscope on your chest and listened for a murmur (see the other hypertension thread).

If your BP normally runs ok, then I would suggest checking it multiple times during the day. If you can get a manual cuff and have somebody that knows how to check it, then that would be ideal. As I mentioned in a previous thread, with a systolic pressure that high, even with white coat hypertension, one wonders if you become hypertensive during your normal day dealing with stressors. If so, then blood pressure medicine might be best for you.

150 systolic pressure isn't going to kill you in the next day. That's why most people don't consider it worth treating, but doctors realize the importance of lowering your blood pressure. Over 20 years, your heart attack risk doubles, your stroke risk quintiples, and your risk of kidney failure doubles.

 

[Distortion]

I went to another doctor the day after because I had been having chest pains for about 5 months, nothing bad just probably anxiety but I got an EKG and also an Echocardiogram, everything is perfect so i'm not worried anymore. God damn college is so competitive now.