High Blood Pressure

photo credit: samthor

Ok - so here’s my question. I need to know the answer to this one cos my work mates are driving me crazy about it.

Can caffeine cause high blood pressure?

I have to hold my hand up and say that I love my coffee. I “need it” to help me get through each busy day, and while I don’t exactly go crazy with it, I get through about six or seven cups of strong coffee each day. I also think that this helps keep my weight down - and stops me from snacking on sweets or chocolate all the time.

But …. I recently went for a health check at work and my blood pressure is high. The reading was 150/95 said the nurse. Can caffeine cause this?
Is six cups of coffee a day enough to put my blood pressure up.

Now obviously, I dont want to have high BP and I don’t want to go on meds either - but equally, I don’t want to give up my coffee unless I’m certain that it’s the trigger cause.

So? Can caffeine cause high blood pressure? Any help on this would be great. Thanks.

Sue

photo credit: lostash

Help guys …

Can anyone give me a list of the drugs that cause high blood pressure?

I know that this site is devoted to blood pressure treatment and the kind of meds or drugs that can lower it for you. Also natural treatment methods too I see. But what about the opposite?

Are there actual drugs that cause the blood pressure to go up rather than down. I personally believe that there are and in my case I’m blaming an anti inflammation tablet called Voltarin - it’s also called Voltarol or Diclofenac I think.

My BP control was pretty good until I started on this medication for back pain about a year ago. Since then it’s been all over the place - much higher than it should be a lot of the time.

Are there other drugs that can do this too? I’m back off the Voltarol now but certainly don’t want to go through all of that again please ….

A question about snoring and high blood pressure.

Can snoring cause problems with high blood pressure. I’ve tried to read about this but just end up getting confused.

photo credit: azrianna azmil

Some articles say that if I snore and have sleep apnea then that will make me develop high blood pressure. Others seem to tell me that it’s all down to me being overweight - saying that being heavy will give me both raised BP and make me snore. I do snore very loudly and my wife says that I pause when breathing during the night so I guess that I probably do have sleep problems.

I’m going for some sleep tests soon - but what about the blood pressure issue?

Any help anyone?

Bill - UK

The question of using herbs to treat high blood pressure is one that comes up again and again both in medical consultations and in discussions about the best way to keep high blood pressure under control.

I’m not sure that there is any clear answer about whether any one treatment is better than another but I certainly take the view that anyone who suffers from raised BP needs to keep an open mind and be flexible about what works best for them in getting better control.

For some of us we can lower our blood pressure simply by changing our lifestyle - more exercise, less alcohol, less fat and less salt in the diet.

Others need to take herbal or homeopathic / natural supplements in addition to the lifestyle changes.

Many also need prescription medications.  It all really depends on how things work for you as an individual. There really isn’t a one size fits all solution to this. You must make sure you have access to a home blood pressure monitor and then get in the habit of using it every day - get to know your own levels and how they react to your daily life. That’s the first step along the way to getting under better control

If you search online or in the textbooks for the physical signs of high blood pressure then you’ll find a rather odd mixture of things listed.

The reason for that is two fold - firstly, different people experience very different symptoms of high blood pressure and secondly, high blood pressure gets blamed for a whole lot of diffuse symptoms that are not in fact related to it at all.

But what about the physical signs?

Signs in medicine are not the same as symptoms. A sign is something that is objective, can be clearly observed as present by someone else and can be measured externally without any input or view from the patient.

A symptom on the other hand is something subjective - an experience felt by the person suffering from it and as such unique to them, not measurable externally and very much open to interpretation by the person who has it. Pain is a symptom - swelling or redness is a sign.

So then - what are the physical signs of high blood pressure? Well mainly of course the actual numbers on the BP monitor or gauge are signs.

Other signs sometimes seen in long term high blood pressure problems might include bleeding spots on the retina behind the eye, blood in the urine or deterioration in kidney function. Some patients also get enlargement of the heart which can be measured on an EKG /ECG or by echo cardiogram.

I’m 45 and have normal blood pressure averaging about 115/75 (range 90/60 - 115/75), healthy and active and take no medication but use HRT half-patches to treat the dripping sweats associated with premature menopause.

I suffer badly with white coat hypertension which my GP is aware of. On HRT check-up appointments, my GP takes my BP and it always soars to around 199/99 with a pulse of around 100. I’m even worse at the dentist where a BP of 235/110 and pulse of 140 has been recorded. My heart pounds throughout all appointments, the room sways and I feel highly anxious throughout all appointments, even for a simple 2-minute check-up.

My GP wants me to be permanently medicated for high blood pressure but these spikes occur only during my 6-monthly HRT checks and during dentist visits. A month ago I started monitoring my BP by taking 3x daily readings to confirm that my BP is otherwise stable.

Would a beta blocker taken before known stressful events, ie GP and dental surgery visits, help prevent these BP surges?

I don’t want to permanently take medication for hypertension, a condition I don’t have, but equally I don’t want to put myself at risk of a heart attack or stroke. Your advice would be appreciated.

Thank You.

How common is high blood pressure in infants?

High blood pressure in adults is of course an increasingly common problem - but what about in children or in infants?

Well, in truth there are two possible scenarios here - the first is where hypertension or raised BP is found in an older child or teenager. This is often the case where obesity has developed or where the diet is very high in fat or salt.

High blood pressure in younger children or infants is much rarer however - and often points to underlying disease or other health related problems. Children under aged 10 with high BP often have it as a result of heart disease, kidney disease or some other related metabolic syndrome or condition. Narrowed blood vessels such as those found with renal artery stenosis or coarctation of the aorta will also result in higher blood pressure than normal

A Basic Overview Of Your Heart’s Function

Is Salt Killing You? What Does Salt Do To Your Blood
Pressure Levels?

by Doctor Gordon Cameron

Too much salt is a major cause of blood pressure problems
for many people. The high concentrations of sodium in many
of the foods we eat today results in blood pressure readings
that creep upwards - causing strokes and heart attacks.

You can now buy simple home blood pressure monitor devices.
These allow you to check your readings as often as you like.
Try an experiment and check the levels of BP before and then
after a salty meal - the results will shock you. The rise in
pressure levels caused by salt is greater if you have spent
time trying to keep salt out of your diet for a while before
you check the results.

The problem is aggravated for those who are highly
sensitised to the presence of salt in food. This is called
sodium sensitivity - and if you are unlucky enough to have
it then your risk of heart attack or early death due to MI
or stroke will be much higher than for other people your
age.

OK - so how do you know if you are salt sensitive?

Here’s a simple way to figure it all out. First you need to
invest in a simple home blood pressure reading machine. You
can buy these online or in a local drugstore or pharmacy.
Second, take time to learn how to use it so that you can
keep a chart of your readings and results. Then, once you’ve
grasped how to make it work for you, go on the following
diet for one week.

The eating plan is not complicated. You want to cut salt
out of your diet almost completely. Consume only fruit or
fruit smoothies or yogurt for seven days. Nothing else.
Drink water or tea or coffee. That should ensure almost zero
salt. Check your BP readings - what happens?

Last step - treat yourself to a meal with lots of salt
added. If you are one of those who react then you’ll notice
the difference and feel the effects immediately. Your BP
readings will go up very quickly. If this applies to you
then you should act to reduce salt from your diet
immediately.

Find out more about natural blood pressure treatment
and about how Hawthorn berry blood pressure treatments work