Blood Pressure

[AngelBunny]

Hi ladies

Just wondering about blood pressure. Mine used to always be either normal or slightly low pre-preg (between 90-120 systolic). At my 16 week MW appointment it was 130. at the doctors at 19 weeks (last week) it was 160. she checked it again a bit later and it was 145 but she said this is still too high & wrote me off work for another 2 weeks to rest. would it be worth getting a home BP monitor? i'm just concerned because i had a look online & it said 160 systolic is severe hypertension. i've also been having fast heart rate & crushing pressure in my chest when exerting myself, can this be related to BP? i feel fine when resting. i have a cardiology appointment in a few weeks but i'm hoping to get back to work before then i just want to know that it's safe to for baby

 

[lynnikins]

i would be getting a home BP monitor and doing as little as possible you dont want a BP that high even when not pregnant so take the doctors orders seriously and rest for the sake of your baby if your BP is too high it can limit oxegen levels in your blood and that isnt good for baby

 

[AngelBunny]

i would be getting a home BP monitor and doing as little as possible you dont want a BP that high even when not pregnant so take the doctors orders seriously and rest for the sake of your baby if your BP is too high it can limit oxegen levels in your blood and that isnt good for baby

thanks for replying, i had been more concerned about my heart rate but another lady's post reminded me i had high BP so i thought i'd look into it & was shocked to see that its really dangerous that high. i'll get a home monitor. when it was 160 i felt totally normal, i think that's what's worrying me, that it might be that high a lot of the time & i'm not aware of it xx

 

[lynnikins]

better to be safe hun, i have the opposite problem mines normally lower than normal and when it got to 140/90 then my MW was really worried lol but for alot of pregnant women that is normal readings

 

[olivetree83]

Hi Claire,

My blood pressure sky rocketed around 8 weeks. She would take it prior to the ultrasound and then after and we found that it would drop a little bit after a positive scan so most of it was just nerves. However, my doctor put me on baby aspirin to keep it in check and all of my appointments ever since I've had normal BP.

I also don't have the other problems that you do though, other than out of breath when I do too much but I've read this is normal. I would get a monitor, ask you doctor about baby aspirin and take it easy hun.

Good luck at your cardiology appointment.

 

[hulahoop09]

My bp has been 140 odd over 80 odd and at one point went up to 155 over 85 but mw told me this was ok! I am confused cause as you say your mw signed you off. make sure you take it easy hun! Xx

 

[AngelBunny]

My bp has been 140 odd over 80 odd and at one point went up to 155 over 85 but mw told me this was ok! I am confused cause as you say your mw signed you off. make sure you take it easy hun! Xx

i have tachycardia as well, had resting pulse of 140. would be ok if i had an office job but unfortunately my job is running around for 12 hrs straight, so she said it's not safe to do it xx

 

[mandaxmx]

sorry to sound stupid but that high number you are talking about is that the top number reading ???? ..... if it is personally i have been told that number is not as important as the bottom number ... since ive been 10 weeks pregnanct my blood pressure has ranged from 148/80 upto 168/105 ...... and whenever the last number has been in the 90s they say that was high but the first number they have never been concerned about .....i still also have never been signed off work or anything yet ...

 

[Missy.]

sorry to sound stupid but that high number you are talking about is that the top number reading ???? ..... if it is personally i have been told that number is not as important as the bottom number ... since ive been 10 weeks pregnanct my blood pressure has ranged from 148/80 upto 168/105 ...... and whenever the last number has been in the 90s they say that was high but the first number they have never been concerned about .....i still also have never been signed off work or anything yet ...

^ I was told the same. I suffered with pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy and what I was told was that they only get concearned if the bottom number increases by 20 of what your booking in reading was. So for me my booking in reading this pregnancy was 110/64 now if my bottom number was to increase to 84 thats when they would get concearned. I was always told the bottom number gives you the true reading and the top number can change depending on weither your nervous/anxious etc. x

 

[AngelBunny]

sorry to sound stupid but that high number you are talking about is that the top number reading ???? ..... if it is personally i have been told that number is not as important as the bottom number ... since ive been 10 weeks pregnanct my blood pressure has ranged from 148/80 upto 168/105 ...... and whenever the last number has been in the 90s they say that was high but the first number they have never been concerned about .....i still also have never been signed off work or anything yet ...

yes the top number. that is normally the most important reading as that is the pressure of the blood as the heart pumps it. 168/105 is classed as severe hypertension. any systolic reading (top number) of 160+ is sever hypertension regardless of the bottom number xx

 

[mandaxmx]

ohhhh thats strange ...they measure mine opposite way over here and did whn i was in uk , they were always worried about the lower number more with me ... yeh my blood presure has been noted as being high i have been in and out of hospital since week 10 but on the odd time the last number has been back into the 70s they have classed that as normal even with the top number 140+ ...strange how things are done different ... ive just been up to the hospital today regarding mine and my urine .. if i was you i would take your midwives advice then and rest as much as you can and get a home one so you can monitor it ..xx hope it sorts itself out xx

 

[mandaxmx]

same as missy that is the exact same advice i have had .......

 

[AngelBunny]

i'm not sure what my diastolic reading was, i know it was in the hundred something region. i never pay much attention to it to be honest, at work (hospital) we are taught to focus on the top number first & foremost as it's more important apparently, maybe it's different during pregnancy?

 

[hulahoop09]

My pulse is almoat always late 90s into the the 100s. Lol. I summarise medical records and always check if anything is over the usual 120/80 as a regular thing then tends to be classed as hypertension but if one off then is usually ok, by sounds of it yours is more than one off. I so always worry about my bp. Lol. I hope you feel better soon hun! Xx

 

[Missy.]

I have no idea hun perhaps they do it differently in different hospitals. I was always hospitalised when my bottom number was high, they never really took much notice if the top one was high.

With regards to your question though hun, I would definitely keep an eye on it. It's better to be safe than sorry. Always be aware of any other symptoms such as headaches, swelling or flashing lights infront of your eyes etc. x

 

[AngelBunny]

My pulse is almoat always late 90s into the the 100s. Lol. I summarise medical records and always check if anything is over the usual 120/80 as a regular thing then tends to be classed as hypertension but if one off then is usually ok, by sounds of it yours is more than one off. I so always worry about my bp. Lol. I hope you feel better soon hun! Xx

yeh my pulse never lower than 90 or 100. usually more like 140-160. BP used to be on the low side, just struck me as odd that it's high now. ahh weeell as long as the bubkins is ok i feel fine, just going a bit funny when i'm active, weird xx

 

[yourstruly10]

I had high blood pressure in the end of my last pregnancy. I was always 120/60. At the end of my pregnancy I was 154/96. they started to get worried when I hit 145/80 but never told me which number they were worried about.

This time my blood pressure is up sometimes and normal others. I always have the tachycardia thing going on( been check for everything already and its just the stress of back to back pregnancies on my body). Its mostly just annoying. My resting is normally aaround 70-90 but I get about one bout of 145 for an hour or so daily.

Try and take it as easy as possible. And try not to stress. That causes blood pressure to rise. Who knows maybe its up because the stress of the fast heart rate.

 

[Dolphinz4]

I have a BP monitor at home- I bought it before I was even pregnant- It comes in handy because you can take your blood pressure at different times everyday, and see if there is a pattern- If anything you can take this to your Doctor at your next appointment I bought a digital one and its super easy to use

 

[menageriemom]

I had pre-pregnancy hypertension, at worst it was at 160/90. They did put me on a small dose of Labetalol and I purchased a home BP monitor so I could check it at home.

After being on the Labetalol, my home BP ranges from 116/70-128/80. It does still go up at the doctor, sometimes 140/85 or so - but I get very nervous. My OB said to call them if I get consistent readings of my systolic (top number) over 150.

I would purchase a home monitor just to be sure. Mine gives me a lot of peace of mind!

 

[pcake]

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OMRON-M2-Upp...t=UK_Health_HealthCare_RL&hash=item255b9585e8 Sure uv had a look anyway, but u can get the monitors quite cheaply on ebay, they range from 12.99 upwards. I had swollen ankles last week and was getting really bad headaches, so i got paranoid about high bp,but had bp checked and it was still really low,so i do think that getting a monitor for ur peace of mind would be well worth it, as i felt so much better when id had mine checked and knew it was ok.

Sorry uv got the hassle of this, im guessing they have obviously checked ur urine for protein at ur apts?? I also think its important u rest at home, and dont worry about getting back to work. I know its hard for many reasons- i severed a tendon in my foot at the w/end, so had an op to repair it, now on crutches and got a cast, so im off work for probably a couple of weeks, and like u i was worried about getting back quickly. Now realised i just cant and i think def in ur case u need to relax and rest!! xx