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Suggest Treatment For Nosebleeds In An Elderly Person
Question: My husband is 79 and recently began getting sudden nosebleeds with quite a bit of blood. This has been going on for over a week
Brief Answer:
Signs of high blood pressure
Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your concern.
Your husband may have not any diagnosis, but, not rarely, a nose bleed is the heralding sign of high blood pressure, which has to had been constant. This happens because nose has only capillaries, which are fragile (of course, when the bleeding is in small amounts), and the first ones to take the "fist" are the smallest vessels (capillaries of the nose).
At this point, I think that a study to confirm/exclude high blood pressure should be done. I recommend a 24-hour blood pressure monitor, to establish the exact trend of the blood pressure of your husband and, according to the test's results, we should discuss about the medication needed to treat high blood pressure, in order to keep it under 140/90 mmHg.
I hope my answer is helpful. I am happy to help, should you have follow-up questions.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
Signs of high blood pressure
Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your concern.
Your husband may have not any diagnosis, but, not rarely, a nose bleed is the heralding sign of high blood pressure, which has to had been constant. This happens because nose has only capillaries, which are fragile (of course, when the bleeding is in small amounts), and the first ones to take the "fist" are the smallest vessels (capillaries of the nose).
At this point, I think that a study to confirm/exclude high blood pressure should be done. I recommend a 24-hour blood pressure monitor, to establish the exact trend of the blood pressure of your husband and, according to the test's results, we should discuss about the medication needed to treat high blood pressure, in order to keep it under 140/90 mmHg.
I hope my answer is helpful. I am happy to help, should you have follow-up questions.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
I have been taking his blood pressure and it has gone from174/77 to 137/97 to 148/112 to most recently 146/91. No bleeding during the evening or today. His blood pressure has always been normal. What could possibly cause blood pressure to increase so rapidly? How urgent is it to see his doctor? Thank you
Brief Answer:
Hello again
Detailed Answer:
Welcome back, madame.
If the amount of blood was little, then no urgent need to see the doctor. Nose capillaries' "burst" with little blood coming out, could happen to anyone, especially at older ages, when capillary walls become more frail.
If he is not on any medication to fight high blood pressure, then my recommendation is that he should be put on one, which would also prevent these spikes of high figures. Blood pressure is a very fragile parameter which is prone to change, between high and low, under physical and psychological stress, after consuming caffeine-containing beverages, etc. That is why, even in physiological states, there may be spikes of high blood pressure.
I hope this helps. Let me know if there are any further queries.
Glad to help,
Dr. Meriton
Hello again
Detailed Answer:
Welcome back, madame.
If the amount of blood was little, then no urgent need to see the doctor. Nose capillaries' "burst" with little blood coming out, could happen to anyone, especially at older ages, when capillary walls become more frail.
If he is not on any medication to fight high blood pressure, then my recommendation is that he should be put on one, which would also prevent these spikes of high figures. Blood pressure is a very fragile parameter which is prone to change, between high and low, under physical and psychological stress, after consuming caffeine-containing beverages, etc. That is why, even in physiological states, there may be spikes of high blood pressure.
I hope this helps. Let me know if there are any further queries.
Glad to help,
Dr. Meriton
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
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