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What Causes Fluctuating Blood Pressure?
I check my heart rate from time to time on blood pressure machines, and we recently purchased a Pulse Oximeter and I was feeling light headed, and my face flushed red, and I felt my heart beat throughout my entire body. So I checked it on the Oximeter and it read 122 BPM. It's usually up there in the 100's after an hour or so I checked it again and it went down to high 80's. What could be the reason for this? I was diagnosed with high blood pressure when I was 17 and took a few different pills for that but it never made a difference on feeling my rapid heart rate.
Tue, 19 Apr 2016
Hello!
I understand your concern and would explain that high blood pressure at the age of 17 is not normal.
I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing further investigations for possible secondary hypertension:
- a resting ECG
- a chest X ray study
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring would help examine your heart rhythm during the day
- an abdominal ultrasound to examine the blood flow in the renal arteries and exclude possible fibrodysplasia
- some blood lab tests (complete blood count, PCR, sedimentation rate, blood electrolytes, kidney and liver function tests, thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid dysfunction, cortisol and aldosteron plasma levels for possible adrenal gland dysfunction)
- urinary metanephrines levels for possible feochromocytoma.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above tests.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I understand your concern and would explain that high blood pressure at the age of 17 is not normal.
I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing further investigations for possible secondary hypertension:
- a resting ECG
- a chest X ray study
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring would help examine your heart rhythm during the day
- an abdominal ultrasound to examine the blood flow in the renal arteries and exclude possible fibrodysplasia
- some blood lab tests (complete blood count, PCR, sedimentation rate, blood electrolytes, kidney and liver function tests, thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid dysfunction, cortisol and aldosteron plasma levels for possible adrenal gland dysfunction)
- urinary metanephrines levels for possible feochromocytoma.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above tests.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
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