IC_Clearly said:I am 59 (and a 20 mile a week runner) and have had an several incidents over
a couple of years with my BP. It seems when I visit the doc my BP will
shoot up to the 160/100 range (not every time but more often than not).
...depending on the time of day, it will hover around 115/75 and sometimes
will
spike up to 140/90.
Sounds like you have labile blood pressure (varies a lot) and white coat
hypertension (goes up in presence of healthcare professionals). Neither
condition is as bad as having constant high blood pressure, but neither
condition is as good has having constant normal blood pressure. Real outcome
studies have shown that people with this varying and sometimes elevated blood
pressure have higher risks of consequences than truly normal BP folks, but not
as bad risk as those with consistently elevated BP.
Thus, don't freak out, but don't blow it off. Please talk it over with a
doctor who also will not blow it off. There are lots of good options for
helping you avoid BP consequences, and not all of them are medicines, so you
have good reason to be optimistic.
Best of luck.
-- Josh Steinberg MD, Syracuse