High Blood Pressure and Hypertension Forum - High Blood Pressure In a Young Man

Hi, thanks for taking the time to read my question.

I'm a 24 year old male and I've recently been having blood pressure concerns. I often have a slight pain that comes and goes on the left side of my chest and back. I talked to my GP, and now a cardiologist about this, and the cardiologist thinks that the slight pain is the result of the fact that my blood pressure seems to be regularly elevated. I often take it at the grocery store, and it is usually around 144/90 when I first sit down to take it, and as I rest it will drop into the 130s/70s usually. I'm scheduled for a stress test in a week.

What concerns me is that I live very healthily. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, mostly lean meat, no salt, and I exercise daily. I just cannot get my blood pressure to drop to a normal level and I'm constantly distracted and worried by this slight chest pain. The cardiologist that I'm seeing seems to be of the persuasion of taking elevated blood pressure very seriously, and depending on the outcome of my stress test, he may prescribe medication.

I think it began about 3 years ago when I went through a period of drinking excessively, not exercising, and eating relatively unhealthily. However, for the past couple years I have made a point of drinking much less (almost nothing now), eating well and exercising, and my blood pressure is still elevated.

Is it possible that I may just need medication for a short period to "jog" my blood pressure back to a normal level, or is it likely to be a lifelong condition? I shudder to think of the consequences of having high blood pressure starting in my 20's.

Replies(19)

MandMs

replied on October 24th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

When you are experiencing chest pain usually?

Is it connected with your daily activities?

Is it accompanied with other symptoms?

Kingsley

replied on October 24th, 2007

New User

It comes and goes throughout the day and is apparently unconnected to anything I do. I hardly ever notice it when I exercise. Nothing in particular seems to bring it on. I have no other symptoms that I know of. I have decent stamina on the treadmill, and no palpitations or anything that I know of.

meblonde01

replied on October 24th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Does High bp run in your family? It is very possible you will need to go on a BP med..
How is your weight? and do you smoke or take in much caffine or salt? These all can cause BP to rise..

Marianne0558

replied on October 24th, 2007

Supporter

My husband has high bp and he is 22.
His grandfather passed away at age 23 from a heart attack.
High bp usually runs in the family... so it might be something you need meds for life, or short term-depending on how bad it is.
My husband isn't on meds.. but when he has a high level of stress....watch out!! I can see the steam come out from his ears Very Happy

Kingsley

replied on October 24th, 2007

New User

meblonde01 wrote:

Does High bp run in your family? It is very possible you will need to go on a BP med..
How is your weight? and do you smoke or take in much caffine or salt? These all can cause BP to rise..

There is somewhat of a family history. My grandfather has always dealt with it and I believe my aunt takes medication for it. My mother claims her blood pressure is normal. She has always been very healthy and thin and has never had any bad habits so I believe it. No history that I know of on my dad's side.

I'm not overweight and do not smoke. Caffeine is minimal (couple cups of tea a day) and I've been low sodium for the past few months. My lifestyle is quite healthy and that's what alarms me, the fact that there's nothing to explain away the BP. My stress is pretty low too. I suppose if I had any of these risk factors right now then my BP would be sky high.

Marianne0558 wrote:

Wow, a heart attack at 23. Pretty amazing, but I've seen it myself. A guy I knew (same age) had a heart attack a year or so ago and now appears to have congestive heart failure, so I know it's possible. He lived an extremely unhealthy lifestyle though, drinking every night (crazy college days) and some drugs too.

Anyway, I guess it's nice to know I'm not the only early 20's guy with high BP. Hopefully I can nip it in the bud and be fine.

MandMs

replied on October 25th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Re: High Blood Pressure In a Young Man

Kingsley wrote:

Is it possible that I may just need medication for a short period to "jog" my blood pressure back to a normal level, or is it likely to be a lifelong condition? I shudder to think of the consequences of having high blood pressure starting in my 20's.

Doctors, usually, suggest changes in life style and nutrition from 3 to 6 months before the doctor starts to think about the medication treatment.
I'll suggest you to get your heart check( chest pain you are experiencing can be due to different medical conditions, but it can be, also, due to luck of oxygen of your heart muscle)
Do you have recent blood and urine analysis done?
What's the kidneys function like?
Have you noticed some changes in urination habits?
Have you thought of checking your kidneys with an ultrasound?

Kingsley

replied on October 25th, 2007

New User

Re: High Blood Pressure In a Young Man

MandMs wrote:

We've run tests and they have come back fine. A couple blood tests (not sure which), a kidney ultrasound, chest x-ray, cat-scan, all fine. No changes in urination habits. I feel all around healthy, really. The thought process right now is that this slight pain is caused by the elevated blood pressure and the fact that it forces the heart to work a little harder. I'll be doing a stress test soon and that will tell us more.

Thanks for the responses.

MandMs

replied on November 5th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Have you received your stress test results already?
Did your doctor recommend checking your thyroid gland activity?

Gordon79

replied on December 20th, 2007

New User

Hi
I'm at the start of a similar process to you Kingsley. I'm 28 and just diagnosed with hbp. Mine is 170/100, which my doctor said was alarmingly high for such a young guy. I just had a blood test done, and says everything looks normal from those results... lipid profile, kidney function, liver function...

My doc just told me to go do a kidney ultrasound just in case though. He told me change my diet for a while. Although he said low sodium diet, I think I will try the DASH diet for a while just in case. It's an overall healthy diet to live by anyway, so might as well right?

MandMs - just coming back from my doctor's today, and my in my blood test, he said he forgot to add the thyroid TSH test. I asked him about it, and he said he will check my blood again in a month or so, but he said that my thyroid will probably have very little to do with my bp... I was a bit confused by what he meant though, because I thought thyroid plays a pretty big part in high/low bp??

MandMs

replied on December 26th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Hi, Gordon!

I guess you know better than your doctor.
Thyroid gland and its function plays a big part in bp readings.
Abnormal functioning of certain glands among which is thyroid gland can cause secondary hypertension (hypertension with underlying disease)
Both, increased and decreased thyroid function is connected with high blood pressure.
Hypothyroidism (condition that occurs when the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone) can cause high blood pressure.
Hyperthyroidism (condition that occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone) can increase the activity of epinephrine and norepinephrine, which can increase blood pressure.

10% of high blood pressure cases have underlying cause, which can be treated successfully along with high blood pressure.

Have you noticed that your high blood pressure tends to appear suddenly?

Gordon79

replied on December 26th, 2007

New User

Hey MandMs, hope you had a great Christmas season!

My doctor told me to buy a blood pressure monitor to use at home because he thinks I might have "White Coat Anxiety" which causes my bp to go up at the doctor's office. I've been checking, and it definitely is lower, but I would say it's still a bit high, averaging around 155/85.

Thinking back to what my doctor said though, I think he might have meant that thyroid function is not the cause in my particular case, maybe because I don't exhibit any of the other thyroidism symptoms. I don't know, I'll find out more later.

I had a sudden attack of chest pains just a couple of days ago, and went to the hospital because I was worried. They did more blood tests, cardiogram, chest xray and the ER doctor listened to my heart and breathing for pericarditis or pleuritis. Everything was normal...

My blood pressure is pretty consistent so far that I've been checking since I bought the monitor.

A question though - if my blood tests show that kidney functions are normal, then what would a kidney ultrasound check for that the blood test didn't already reveal?

hawki

replied on January 10th, 2008

New User

Kidneys

What role due kidney's play in high blood pressure/high cholesterol?

Gordon79

replied on January 10th, 2008

New User

I just found out on my own recently.

Kidneys play quite a big role in managing blood pressure.
For one, the kidneys regulate the salt and water content in the blood, both of which affect pressure.
Another factor is that the kidneys are or contain a major artery which blood flows through. If there are constrictions in the veins going through there (inflamed kidney), then pressure will increase to compensate for this to get enough blood/oxygen to the rest of your body.

MandMs

replied on January 14th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Hi, Gordon79!

I hope you had a great holiday season, too.
Sorry I didn't write to you earlier, but I wasn't here for a few weeks.
I'm happy you find the answer about relation between kidney function and anatomy and bp.
So, tell me, how do you feel now?
Have you though that you may have high blood pressure due to stress and anxiety?
Did you get referral for kidney visual examination already?

Gordon79

replied on January 14th, 2008

New User

I had a good holiday yes, except for me being ill for most of it.
I had my kidney ultrasound done on Jan 2nd, and I am in to see my doctor about the results tomorrow. I hope nothing serious is wrong with me.

I hope you had a great holidays! Thanks for all your help and concern Smile

Gordon79

replied on January 15th, 2008

New User

I just got the results of my kidney ultrasound. It's a bit off topic now, but I thought I'd share... they found a 1.2 cm complex cyst in my kidney.

I posted a topic in the "Kidney Disease" section if you care to read.

MandMs

replied on January 23rd, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Hi, Gordon 79!

Do you have daily headaches, especially in mornings?
Do you feel luck of energy? Are you often nauseous? Are you experiencing dizziness or blurred vision?
Can you, please, post what's your usual day like when you don't feel well (have certain symptoms that can be related to high blood pressure)?

I'll check the topic and it's my pleasure to share informations with you.

Hope you feel better!
All best to you!
Marija

Gordon79

replied on January 23rd, 2008

New User

Hi

I don't feel any of those symptoms that you listed.
My doctor put me on low dose Ramipril just in case.

Thanks MandMs
I look forward to any information you may have on my Kidney post! Thanks for your help and support.

MandMs

replied on January 24th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Have you tried to do some regular moderate exercise?
Even if you must take medicine, making some changes in your lifestyle can help reduce the amount of medicine you must take.
Some light aerobic exercise or walking are effective in lowering the high blood pressure. You can, also, try some relaxation techniques.

I checked your Kidney post.

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