I have been attending a hypertension referral centre after having had hypertension for fourteen years. This is from the letter of my second consultation in September.
“ His blood pressure at the clinic today was 187/82. He has very labile hypertension but I wonder the reality if it is his blood pressure tends to be low but very reactive rather than predominately high certainly he seems to have had side effects on a number of antihypertensives raising the question as to whether he was in fact being over treated. To avoid complicating things we are leaving his medication as it is although if he gets symptomatic hypertension it would probably be worth reducing his losartan (from 100mg to 50mg)
We will arrange the MR scan and I look forward to hearing the results of his 24 hour ambulatory BP monitor.
Going into his past in a little more detail it sounds as if he hasn’t had a lot in the way of investigations for his hypertension and I am going to arrange an MR scan to address his aneurysm but more importantly whether his renal arteries are involved in it (which might not be apparent from the surveillance ultrasounds he gets) and also to clarify a little more about his liver cysts and in particular the extent to which his kidneys may be involved”
MR scan is on Friday but my next clinic appointment is not until mid January.
Over the past ten days my average BP reading has been higher at 157/78 compared to 147/78 in the previous two months.
Derek, wouldnt it have been nice if this had all been done before ! Still, it looks like you have someone who is on the ball and is determined to improve things for you. Are you gong to ask for your clinic appt. to be brought forward ? Next January is quite a wait. All the best, keep in touch.
Bess
So what about your 24 hr monitor when you getting that good luck
Wow!!!!!!!!! Fascinating stuff. Bet loads of people are being over treated but rare for a doc to put that on paper. We are all now suffering from hypertension investigation envy and are further jealous of the fact that your doc has read your medical notes even if a little late in the day. Good luck with the scan. Good luck with everything and keep us posted.
Alex
Back in 2001 when I had an angiogram that was clear after two stress ECG's had false positives. The consultant said this time I wlll sort out your BP at my outpatients clinic once and for all. When I didn't hear from him I asked my GP who said there is nothing about it on you discharge notes (written by one of Romanian his students) I phoned his secretary who said its not on your discharge notes.
I then asked my then GP to refer me to the hypertension clinic. He said if I referred every person with hypertension there the queue would stretch from here to the hospital. End of story.
Nowadays with more NHS experience I would have written to the consultant. The best advice I had from a GP was" Patient Power". He said we cannot get appointments brought forward, contact them yourself they do not like that. The first time I did that for an appointment 21 weeks away got me an appointment for the next week.
The nurse at my GP's surgery will do it. I will ask for it to be done in Mid December.
Check on Hypertension Referral Centres. There are not many around. In theory the NICE regulation is that if your BP is consistently over 160 systolic you should be referred to one. Most GP's seem not to know that or the existance of the centres.
Interesting and I will research further.
Interesting and I will research further.
I never realised that if systolic pressure was 160+ for a period of time that you could/should be referred to hypertension clinic. Mine was consistently over that for years before my latest "crusade" to lower it myself.
Good luck on Friday Derek. Do keep us posted. I sense that we are all going to be there (mentally not physically) with you!!
I got the 160+ fact from the representative of of a company who had developed a new technique to control BP (renal denervation now suspended for further invetigation) and confirmed it from the NICE site. Her mother was 160+ and even with her medical background had a job getting her referred to a clinic.
Given it's such a big issue you'd think they'd try harder or maybe that's why they don't. Perhaps we ought to start our own campaign. Enough expertise on this website to write a book or two on blood pressure:
Hypertension - the True Story and then the following year we could do the sequel - The Return of Hypertension
Yes Derek. As Fisherman says we are with you in spirit on Friday. Take care and all the very best.
Personally I don't hold out great hopes for them finding a reason for my hypertension. One would think that a kidney or elsewhere problem would keep it high not fluctuating wildly,
Good luck for Friday derek, mine goes wild but mine is due to fight or flight I know that for a fact..
So did your doctor not give you pills for it for along time then I wonder what our bp does when we are asleep has anyone got any clues
I only discovered my high bp when I moved in with my (then) girlfriend (as of April this year, my wife!) and moved surgeries. They did some comprehensive tests and discovered my hypertension. Previously I only went to the docs when I was feeling VERY poorly. Something to do with misplaced macho pride!!
If you ever have a 24 hour BP monitor ask for a print out of it. You will likely be very different from me.
One I have had hourly readings from 1am as 121/86, 121/78, 157/110, 140/97, 121/84,146/105, 144/89.
Over the 24 hours the average was 141/74.
While awake 142/76
While supposedly asleep 138/68
Highest over the 24 hours was 176/115 at 9.14 am.
Lowest over the 24 hours 121/80.
Thank you. It will be January 11th before my next appointment . Unless he sees something dramatic in the scans.
The consultant is one of us as he too is a patient. He had a massive heart attack last year and is obviously on medications. When I mentioned it to him he said "Who told you that?, It was nothing, it was a long time ago, well last October.
I'll remember your appointment on 11th Jan as my mother will be 95 years old on that day! She has perfect bp!!!
My mother was in a care home for about eight years as she had dementia but she was the only person there not on any medications. No hypertension and a very strong heart at 92.