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What Causes Anxiety In A Hypertensive Person?
Question: I am 71 years old. I tried to go back into nursing after a 7 years absence, for financial reasons. I really didn't want to but saw no other recourse. We had to move to get a job because I was a whistleblower for the state here against the local nursing homes. Needless to say I was under a lot of stress. The first incident I had gone to the BR and when I looked into the mirror I could see that blood vessels in my eyes were bursting. I also had a h/a. Last Wed. I had another h/a and saw the blood vessels bursting in my eyes I asked one of the tech to please take my BP. It was 170/66. I do not have high BP. I talked to the other nurse who took over for me and went home. I gave up ther job and moved back home.Can you have a stroke that low of BP or is the threshold for a stroke, an individual thing?
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that the bursting blood vessels in your eyes are typical of uncontrolled hypertension or hypertensive crisis.
Anyway, an isolated high blood pressure value does not indicate uncontrolled high blood pressure.
It could be related to different possible causes like: straining physical activity, emotional stress or anxiety, thyroid dysfunction, etc..
That is why I would recommend you to closely monitor your blood pressure values frequently during the day (usually in sitting position after 10 minutes of total relax) for an entire week and write those values down.
If your blood pressure values are above the normal ranges (140/90 mm Hg) most of the time, you should consult with your attending physician for careful physical exam and some tests to exclude possible causes of secondary arterial hypertension:
- a resting ECG
- chest X ray study
- complete blood count
- thyroid hormone levels (as you are taking levothyroxin, I would strongly encourage to check your thyroid hormone levels, in order to make the proper adjustments to the dose of this drug if necessary)
- kidney and liver function tests
- fasting glucose
- blood electrolytes.
Anyway, regarding high blood pressure and stroke, you should know that episodes of uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to possible intracranial hemorrhage or bleeding. There is not a specific threshold for blood pressure values to cause this complication. It depends on different factors like: mean blood pressure values, blood vessels compliance or elasticity, age, the presence of previous brain damage due to stroke or amyloidosis, etc..
But blood pressure values above 200/100 mm Hg are really dangerous with a high risk for intracranial bleeding (hemorrhagic stroke). Other alarm signs that you should pay attention to would be strong throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, or nose bleeding. In such case it would be necessary a prompt lowering of blood pressure, possibly in the ER service.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Feel free to ask me again whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that the bursting blood vessels in your eyes are typical of uncontrolled hypertension or hypertensive crisis.
Anyway, an isolated high blood pressure value does not indicate uncontrolled high blood pressure.
It could be related to different possible causes like: straining physical activity, emotional stress or anxiety, thyroid dysfunction, etc..
That is why I would recommend you to closely monitor your blood pressure values frequently during the day (usually in sitting position after 10 minutes of total relax) for an entire week and write those values down.
If your blood pressure values are above the normal ranges (140/90 mm Hg) most of the time, you should consult with your attending physician for careful physical exam and some tests to exclude possible causes of secondary arterial hypertension:
- a resting ECG
- chest X ray study
- complete blood count
- thyroid hormone levels (as you are taking levothyroxin, I would strongly encourage to check your thyroid hormone levels, in order to make the proper adjustments to the dose of this drug if necessary)
- kidney and liver function tests
- fasting glucose
- blood electrolytes.
Anyway, regarding high blood pressure and stroke, you should know that episodes of uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to possible intracranial hemorrhage or bleeding. There is not a specific threshold for blood pressure values to cause this complication. It depends on different factors like: mean blood pressure values, blood vessels compliance or elasticity, age, the presence of previous brain damage due to stroke or amyloidosis, etc..
But blood pressure values above 200/100 mm Hg are really dangerous with a high risk for intracranial bleeding (hemorrhagic stroke). Other alarm signs that you should pay attention to would be strong throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, or nose bleeding. In such case it would be necessary a prompt lowering of blood pressure, possibly in the ER service.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Feel free to ask me again whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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