Blood Pressure

[WizardB]

I'm in the process of being tested for donation.  All of my blood tests, urine tests, chest xray and EKG were all normal, but my blood pressure was borderline....the best number was about 108/80.  The worst number was about 118/86.  Now they want me to do the 24 hour blood pressure monitor.  I started it this weekend, but the cuff was way too tight, so I made it through only 3 readings, because it was cutting off my circulation.  Each of the the three readings kept going higher, I'm assuming from the tight cuff???  I was just at the doctor on Friday and my bp was 104/68.  I guess this is just a vent....I wish I didn't have to do the 24 hour monitoring.  I'm so close......I'm a match, I'm healthy, all that's really left is the CT scan.  I would be really disappointed if I couldn't donate now.

[alyfaye]

Hi there, I am sort of in a similar situation. I had my blood pressure taken at the pharmacy across the street and each time it was high. I brought this up to my donor coordinator and she didn't seem too concerned, and mine was about the same or maybe a little bit higher than yours at about 120/77-124/81 each time. She said that it could be reading high because of discomfort or anxiety. BP can rise by 20 just from being nervous. Or it could be that it was the machine that was off. I went to the doctor Friday and it was 110/63 again, so now I am waiting for the 24-hour test as well. How does the 24 hour monitor work? is it just a machine attached to a cuff that you walk around with for a day? My guess is that you are experiencing "white coat syndrome" where your BP temporarily spikes when you know it's being taken. I was told that I should practice deep breathing exercises and lay flat on my my left side for about 10-15 minutes before having it taken but I haven't tried it so I'm not sure if it will work. I know you probably can't do that with the 24-hour monitor though.

The only other thing I can think of is if you are wearing a sleeve under the cuff, or have your sleeve rolled up above where the cuff is, that may be causing it to get too tight and read high. I had that happen once and pulled my arm out of the sleeve and got a better number.

[Fr Pat]

     I have a home blood-pressure reading machine with digital read-out that I use regularly. The instructions recommend that that I take 3 readings, a minute or two apart, and take the average of the 3. Also to have a calm 30 minutes before taking the reading. Might be worth investing in a good machine and taking your own pressure regularly (and recording it). At first I found that just the buzzing of the machine as it inflates the cuff was enough to make me jump! After a while I got bored with it and stopped getting nervous.
     What data there is indicates that kidney donors may have a higher tendency to later develope high blood pressure than the general population, so many hospitals are strick with potential donors.
     best wishes,
         Fr. Pat

[WizardB]

They're going to send out some different cuffs today, so I can get that going asap....  Hopefully this will go better the second time around!!

[WizardB]

Good news, I completed the 24 blood pressure monitoring yesterday with a bigger cuff.  The only reading I saw was the very first one, which was 103/63, so hopefully the rest were just as good.  I would really like to know how often it went off during the night.  I slept for 8 hours and only felt it twice!  I think it was supposed to go off every 90 minutes, so it should've gone off about 5 times.  I'm surprised that I slept through it!!  I must've been tired!!

So hopefully I'll get those results this week and then can go to the next round of testing!!