How Can A Silent Killer Be Undetected For Years?

[renegadefm]

Had a bit of a shock yesterday. 

I had to have an mot at the doctor's before they would book me an appointment to see the authopedic nurse. 

The mot involves measurements of my height, weight, and blood pressure. 

So the doctor proceeded to do the blood pressure test, I didn't look at the readings as she did them, but she done 3 tests, then looked at me and said are you sure your feeling ok, to which I replied yeah I feel fine. Then she said have you ever had head aches, or feeling dizzy, pains in the chest recently, I said no none of those. 

So she went onto explain I got to give you some medicine to take when you get home, its a course of tablets because your blood pressure is high enough to trigger a stroke or heart attack. 

I think the readings on average were 172 over 93. Worse one was 163 over 100.

But it made me think how many people are walking about not realising they have high blood pressure without realising it. 

I'm not over weight or anything, I don't smoke. I only drink alcohol on my days off work. I like to think I have a balanced diet. 

 

Hopefully the tablets will bring it down, but its a shock to myself. 

[jno]

same as Ellipsis but the other way round: my little Omron meter said my heart rate was 30, the hospital's big machine said it was 60 and I was discharged. In fact every second beat was weaker; the hospital machine didn't detect this but the little home BP meter had spotted that I had a problem.

[beso]

My mother's blood pressure was high enough to kill most people. She must have had very strong arteries. My brother's blood pressure is high too and he has a cholesterol problem despite being quite fit all his life, engaging in competitive rowing and winning a lot of races.

My father had low blood pressure. My sister's is so low that she has to be very careful standing up, exspecially getting out of bed, because she can faint. She has a resting heart rate in the thirties.

Like my dad and brother she has high cholesterol. My dad's was very high but he never treated it. He was told in his seventies that he had a heart of a man thirty years his junior.

My sister had a coronary calcium test and it came back zero so she doesn't have to worry about the cholesterol. We assume our father probably had the same.

I have normal blood pressure but a resting heart rate in the low forties. My doctor sent me to a heart specialist twice. The sepecialist did a stress test and told me to "keep doing whatever you are doing" and told my doctor to stop hassling him about me.

A recent test found my cholesterol is marginal. I'm hoping I have the same genes as my father and sister.