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Spiking blood pressure

09/23/2008

Question:

My wife is 54 and a yoga instructor. She is 5/2 109 and in very good shape. She herniated a disc in her back and had severe sciata but seems to have it under control. Lately she has developed spiking B/P 190/107 and similar readings but it can go down to 115/81 but it usually runs 130 or 157 /75+.

A physician put her on a diuretic to lower it but nothing seems but nothing seems to happen. Shes been on med for 3 wks.

She`s active watches what she eats in unusually good health…we are very puzzled…are we/they missing something?

Answer:

It is difficult to give advice without having all the data.  However, a few points can be made:

Pain (e.g. due to sciatica) can certainly raise the blood pressure.  Anxiety, stress or depression can also cause swings in blood pressure.  Your wife’s blood pressure may be easier to control with a beta blocker (metoprolol or nebivolol) than a diuretic.  In some cases, antidepressant medication (Prozac or Lexapro) can be helpful, even in people who are not clinically depressed.

At any rate, if the diuretic is not working, another type of medication should be tried.

For more information:

Go to the High Blood Pressure health topic.