High Blood Pressure Late in Life? (allergy, urination, health issues, dental)

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by temptation001

I got temporary high blood pressure after I got the second Covid vaccine. I believe it might be related.

I had the first booster three weeks ago.

[temptation001]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

I had the first booster three weeks ago.

Just keep monitoring it. You might want to buy a blood pressure cuff to continue checking it.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by temptation001

Just keep monitoring it. You might want to buy a blood pressure cuff to continue checking it.

I have two, an arm one and a wrist one.

[LittleDolphin]

I've been doing some life style changes that are lowering my BP. I hope to get off meds.

Found out an imbalance of sodium/potassium can really affect BP.

Most of us consume high sodium (salt) compared to potassium. I've been cutting way back on sodium and am eating lots more potassium-rich foods. It's making quite a difference in my BP.

High potassium foods include:

prunes, raisins, apricots, spinach, bananas, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, melons, potatoes.

I'm also doing more aerobic treadmill work at the gym. I like walking outside, but it's too darn hot right now--so off to the A/C gym I go.

Maybe eating more potassium foods and cutting back on sodium might help your HBP, too. Wishing you all good luck!

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

I've been doing some life style changes that are lowering my BP. I hope to get off meds.

Found out an imbalance of sodium/potassium can really affect BP.

Most of us consume high sodium (salt) compared to potassium. I've been cutting way back on sodium and am eating lots more potassium-rich foods. It's making quite a difference in my BP.

High potassium foods include:

prunes, raisins, apricots, spinach, bananas, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, melons, potatoes.

I'm also doing more aerobic treadmill work at the gym. I like walking outside, but it's too darn hot right now--so off to the A/C gym I go.

Maybe eating more potassium foods and cutting back on sodium might help your HBP, too. Wishing you all good luck!

Thanks. Interesting. My sister, who has a family kidney disease that missed me, has constant HBP because of the kidney disease, but then BP meds often damage the kidneys. It's a vicious circle.

Anyway, her doc recently put her on a renal diet, in which she is to AVOID potassium.

But that's not me. I can eat those things and I like most of them, so thank you. Can't hurt to increase those in my diet. I have been watching salt.

I do eat a lot of prepared, frozen foods. I buy high-quality stuff from a store that specializes in ONLY frozen foods, because cooking fresh food is not really always possible for me right now due to caregiving responsibilities, but I bet the sodium content of some of the prepared foods is too high.

I have had to set my own health aside for someone else, but that's not going to work out for anybody, is it.

[LittleDolphin]

You're so right--we have to safeguard our own health so we can be care-givers for others when we need to.

And it's a drag, but I find I have to read all labels closely to scope out the sodium content. And fat. And sugar.

Prepared foods can be big sources of high sodium.

Some are quite astounding.

Good luck in nurturing yourself-- you're worth it!

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

You're so right--we have to safeguard our own health so we can be care-givers for others when we need to.

And it's a drag, but I find I have to read all labels closely to scope out the sodium content. And fat. And sugar.

Prepared foods can be big sources of high sodium.

Some are quite astounding.

Good luck in nurturing yourself-- you're worth it!

Thanks. Sugar I've already got down. It hides everywhere! Cut it down to avoid diabetes meds a couple year ago.

[riaelise]

My mom started having elevated blood pressure in late middle age, 140/90. Borderline. She tried to control it by diet and exercise. She hit her late 60s and then it got high to the point where managing it organically didn't work. Eventually, with much deliberation, she went on blood pressure meds.

I've had HBP since my early 40s. It runs in our family, in all generations, so it wasn't really a surprise.

I, however, didn't waste any time and got on the medication. I must say that all of the fears I had about taking the medication were unfounded. My blood pressure is now well managed, vs. walking around and being a stroke waiting to happen. The meds have not impacted my life in the least other than drinking (which tapered off dramatically once I had children).

If you are getting consistently really high readings, don't mess around and hope that it will go away. HBP has earned its reputation of being a "silent killer".

[LongevitySeeker]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

I am 63. Never had high blood pressure on any regular basis. It went sky-high the day before my daughter was born by C-section, along with other symptoms (she was late, I was retaining fluids, had the high BP).

When I fell down some stairs and injured my back six years ago, I went to the hospital and my BP was 147 over something. I remember telling the nurse that it was never that high, and she said that pain would do it.

Sometimes when I first get to a dr. office after sitting in traffic, it's been high but then they check again and it goes down.

Well today I went to a dentist, and they checked my BP there (which I've never had done at a dentist office before, but I've never gone to this one before). It was 160/95. I was shocked. The dentist told me that I should check it at home and then get to a walk-in clinic or something if it stays that high (I do not have a family doctor and am not in the United States at the moment anyway).

I just checked it again now, about two hours later, and it's down to 152/79, still too high.

I am hoping this is temporary because I do NOT want to go on BP meds if I can help it, but GEEZ. I'm under a great deal of stress as a caregiver with no end in sight, and I'm wondering if that is affecting my BP.

But if I've never had high BP before, is it common for it to develop suddenly so late in life?

Common or not, you have it and one of your biggest worries should be about doing damage to your kidneys. There are lots of tiny blood vessels in your kidneys and they can be permanently damaged, and you may not have any symptoms to inform you of the damage that's being done. You might not like having to take blood pressure medication but you will be in for a lot worse if you get chronic kidney disease. Also, kidney disease can cause heart disease, just as heart disease can cause kidney disease.

The following link will point out how animal protein can put a burden on kidneys.

https://nutritionfacts.org/2018/02/0...n-the-kidneys/

Another link concerning "A plant-based diet and hypertension"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466938/

In the conclusion it says, "....we believe that consuming a diet that is mostly or exclusively plant-based appears prudent for the prevention and treatment of hypertension."

My comment: I would say "exclusively" plant-based is your best bet. :-)

[Mikala43]

MQ has a lot on her plate right now, no pun intended.