Hi,I am Dr. Carol Rogala (Emergency Medicine). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
I need more details about your concern. Who took your blood pressure, what time of the day and what were your activities before your blood pressure was taken. Did the person who took your BP take it again after 15 minutes just to check if it was correct? What is your usual BP?(assuming that you have yourself checked every once in awhile). Do you feel lightheaded? Palpitations? What is your respiratory rate(number is respirations per minute) and what is your pulse?
Are you worried that you are going to suffer a heart attack? If your BP comes in with other symptoms like, substernal chest pain even at rest, brow sweating, numbness or tingling, abdominal pain then you should be worried, but if it does not, a simple misreading might be possible.
Your BP being 154/88 is not something to worry about if your main concern is suffering a heart attack. Your systolic reading may be high(154) but your diastolic is in normal range(88). You have to look at the factors like stress, diet and lifestyle. Do you smoke? Drink alcohol? These are vasoconstrictors, they can increase your BP without you even feeling it.
Retake you BP again, assess yourself if you have these other symptoms or if your lifestyle needs a few changes, probably more cardiovascular exercises is needed?
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Blood Pressure Is 154/88. Is This Bad?
I need more details about your concern. Who took your blood pressure, what time of the day and what were your activities before your blood pressure was taken. Did the person who took your BP take it again after 15 minutes just to check if it was correct? What is your usual BP?(assuming that you have yourself checked every once in awhile). Do you feel lightheaded? Palpitations? What is your respiratory rate(number is respirations per minute) and what is your pulse? Are you worried that you are going to suffer a heart attack? If your BP comes in with other symptoms like, substernal chest pain even at rest, brow sweating, numbness or tingling, abdominal pain then you should be worried, but if it does not, a simple misreading might be possible. Your BP being 154/88 is not something to worry about if your main concern is suffering a heart attack. Your systolic reading may be high(154) but your diastolic is in normal range(88). You have to look at the factors like stress, diet and lifestyle. Do you smoke? Drink alcohol? These are vasoconstrictors, they can increase your BP without you even feeling it. Retake you BP again, assess yourself if you have these other symptoms or if your lifestyle needs a few changes, probably more cardiovascular exercises is needed?