A few months back I began obsessing about my blood pressure. I would be feeling fine, and then I would think about my blood pressure, whether it was normal or not, work myself up and that process would raise my blood pressure. I would essentially sabotage my calm state. When I take my blood pressure, I am so afraid of it being high, that it takes several tests in a row to get an accurate reading. I finally stop taking it when it displays numbers they say is in the normal range. My first reading compared to my last reading can differ more than 20 to 25 points on the high and more than 10 to 15 on the low. I am familiar with "white coat syndrome" where your blood pressure is higher at the doctors office because of fear and anxiety of doctors. Which I have also experienced, but I seem to have taken it to a new level. Has anyone heard of being able to raise your blood pressure at will, without being influenced by stress or any other leading cause. I am 40 years old, who exercises, eats right, don't smoke or drink and no family history of high blood pressure. And over the years my blood pressure has always been fine. Could this be a form of anxiety or panic that I bring on by my fears of high blood pressure. Sometimes When I read about or talk to someone who has hypertension, I can feel mine rise. And then I go through the process of calming myself down. Sometimes I calm down right away, other times it takes hours. This has been consuming me. Anyone out there with anything remotely similar?
Yes! This is possible and I do it all the time! I am in my 40's and for the past 5-6 years I cannot have my blood pressure taken at the doctor's office. For a good year I could not even take it myself at home - I would bring it up to something like 180! I found that the more I tried to control what the # would be - the worse it would be - because the anxiety of trying to control my outcome just did the reverse and raised it. I have a doctor's appt coming up in two weeks and will just bring my blood pressure results to him, because if I have it taken there, it will just be very high. Luckily, I can finally take it at home and get a normal #. BUT, when I do take it at home, the first reading is always high because I am nervous, and I play a game with myself that I don't look at the result - I just turn the machine off (I know its high because my heart is racing). Then, I turn the machine back on, take deep breaths and take it again. This time I look and see it is almost normal - just a little high. I'll wait a few minutes and do it again, and maybe a 4th time - I always get a few readings of "normal" so I know my blood pressure is ok. So my advice is, stop trying to control the outcome - by controlling it, you are tensing everything in your body and bringing your stress level up, which in turn brings your blood pressure up!
I think I am getting the same problem with my blood pressure reading.
I have this problem really bad. I am only 20 and worked in an emergency dept. for a year. I watched many sick and dying people and since. I have not had a good blood pressure reading at the doctors. My blood pressure has risen to as high as 170 over 110 before.. then doctor took it 5 minutes later and it was 154/80, still very high. I am petrified of having it taken and am so scared to even go to the doctors in fear they will say I am hypertensive, when I know it is because I am anxious. This is consuming me... I want help, its an awful feeling.
If you are suffering from anxiety issues then it would be a good idea for you to maybe talk to your doctor about an antidepressant and perhaps couple that with therapy. I think that if your doctor says that you have hypertension then you can mention to him your anxiety disorder, and I think that he could help you from there. Keep us posted on what happens.
Thank you so much for this post. I thought I was the only one in the world that suffered from this. Just the sight of the BP machine sends my heart racing to over 100 beats per minute. I have always had perfect BP until one day (when I was around 32) I went to my doctor and thought to myself "what if one day my BP reading gets high" and sure enough my BP was 120+ over 70+ which was slightly elevated for me as my reading is normally a perfect 110/70. Ever since then I have been nervous about my BP and it has slowly crept higher and higher to as much as 160/90 at one point. I don't know what you would call this condition as I am not just nervous in the doctors office but also at home. I just need to hear the words "blood pressure" and I go into panic mode. It's crazy but I am working on it as much as I can. I try to relax and take multiple readings each time and they eventually get within the normal range.
I did not realize there were so many people who have this problem. I am 45 and the first post describes me to a "T". I have battled with anxiety for much of my life and have just in the past few years been willing to take medication for it. Going to the doctor for me is awful. When I first went to the family doctor that I use now - I could not even hardly stay in the room, I was so anxious. I talked to him about my worries and fears of getting my BP checked. At one point, he told me to just stop taking it so often. He said to take it about twice a week. I was able to get normal readings during the month that we were monitoring it at home, so he did not put my on BP medication. BUT, if I hear someone talking about high BP or Heart attacks and things like that, I start worrying and up it goes. If I make another trip to the doctor and he monitors me and convinces me that I am okay - then I am usually good to go for a couple of years....
This syndrome is obviously more common than I thought and I am quite reassured by this. I have an appointment in a weeks time for a blood pressure check and I am already anxious about it. I know definitely that it will be high as it always is at the surgery but i can get it lower when relaxed at home. I just need my gp to understand this and believe that my readings taken at home are genuine. I think that she wants to monitor with a 24 hour monitor just to make sure but just having this attached will make me anxious and hence the readings will be high! What a nightmare but you are not alone!
i have the same problem! when i go to doctor i always have a high blood pressure like 180/70 and i feel well! when i tell him i have a "white coat syndrome" he never beliefs me and subscribes a medicine! This way i am afraid to visit my doctor! and if i dont i will lose my insurance forever! I check my BP at home and its normal,120/75.
i thought i was the only one with this. I am pregnant and i whenever i have an appointment they take my blood pressure well a couple months ago they said it was high and then ever since then it has been high the first time they take it. They take it the first time it is 144 over 92 then five min later they take it again it will be 107 over 72. Ever since they told me that one time it was high i freak out the first time trying to calm my slef down worring about the number being high. Glad to know i am not the only one
Hello. If you are concerned about your blood pressure it may be an idea to ask your GP for a 24 Blood Pressure monitor test. A BP monitor is strapped to your arm and takes a reading every 15-20 mins for 24 hours and gives a much clearer picture as apposed to one or two BP readings when you are feeling stressed. Best of luck!
Yes, I have been battling with this for almost a year now. I worry about having some sort of hidden sickness. I had two serious episodes where I felt a shock to my system and the room spinning. I can't believe the Doctors didn't give me a CT or MRI scan. My anxiety has been out of control. I would arrive in the ER with BP of 171/91 and leave with BP of 123/75. The only thing my doctors want to do for me is have me see a psychiatrist. I'm not sure what to think anymore. I am either doing this to myself and it is amazing what our mind can do to us with the fight or flight response or I have something very complicated. My wife told me one day that I am doing it all to myself and she will prove it to me. She took her blood pressure and it was perfect. She said now I am going to think of a negative thought for five minutes and she raised her blood pressure twenty points. She said now I am going to think of only positive thoughts and waited another five minutes. She brought it back down to normal. I would have never believed it if I didn't see it for myself. If I don't get it together here soon, then I will be seeing a psychiatrist. It might be safer trying this route first than getting on blood pressure medication. You are all not alone!
I can raise my blood pressure at will from 110 to 160
I tested it on my mums measurement device
I use the intake of breath through my lips and then focus, and something strange happens;
All the hairs on my body stand up like with static, and i get goosebumps and feel a great rapturous feeling
i can do it at any time,and am constantly researching it by recreating the sensation and investigating
I dont think its a medical problem, i think its an anomaly
I tested it on my mums measurement device
I use the intake of breath through my lips and then focus, and something strange happens;
All the hairs on my body stand up like with static, and i get goosebumps and feel a great rapturous feeling
i can do it at any time,and am constantly researching it by recreating the sensation and investigating
I dont think its a medical problem, i think its an anomaly
hey man are u bull sh**ting or are u serious.. cause i can do this to do you have a email?
I have this phobia and it literally prevented me from getting life insurance even though the medic took my blood pressure 4 times. The harder I tried, the worse it got and I couldn’t get my blood pressure below 170/95. It was embarrassing as hell. If I were to guess, I bet it is related to some form of "performance anxiety”…kind of like an stagefright’s retarded cousin.
Anyway, one day by sheer dumb luck, I discovered that if I did a really hard leg workout at my gym, my blood pressure would drop for up to an hour afterwards. I did some research a found out that weightlifting will dilate the blood vessels throughout the body which creates wider openings for the blood to flow through and reduces the amount of resistance and pressure on the vessel walls. And when it comes to working out the legs, the blood will pool longer inside the "peripheral limbs" which keeps your blood pressure down for even a longer period of time after you work out. So even though your heart rate may be high, your blood pressure will stay low and there's nothing you can do about it...a super cool trick.
So you might try a hard leg workout before your next doctor's appointment and see what happens. Just don't forget to shower first.
-N
P.S. - I was able to get life insurance after that trick. Good luck!