Pre Hypertension

[Holey Mike MFD]

Dear Dr. Steve I recently checked my blood pressure on one of those machines at the store usually located by the pharmacy. The first one told me pre hypertension according to the chart. I blew it off because it was kind of a stressful day at the time. However I checked it again yesterday and I was relaxed not exerted no excuses and once again pre- hypertension the actual reading was 130/93. I've quit smoking(2years) and I've quit drinking sugary sodas but the problem is I use that as an excuse to eat crappy food combined with the fact that I drive a truck over the road (translation no excercise) and there is not a lot of healthy options anyway. Anyway how much trouble am I in? I have to pass a d.o.t. physical also just like cyber trucker plus I really don't want to have a heart attack. Also maybe it is or isn't pertinent but I've been taking a lot of ibuprofen for toothache pain lately.

[Dr Steve]

Dear Dr. Steve I recently checked my blood pressure on one of those machines at the store usually located by the pharmacy. The first one told me pre hypertension according to the chart. I blew it off because it was kind of a stressful day at the time. However I checked it again yesterday and I was relaxed not exerted no excuses and once again pre- hypertension the actual reading was 130/93. I've quit smoking(2years) and I've quit drinking sugary sodas but the problem is I use that as an excuse to eat crappy food combined with the fact that I drive a truck over the road (translation no excercise) and there is not a lot of healthy options anyway. Anyway how much trouble am I in? I have to pass a d.o.t. physical also just like cyber trucker plus I really don't want to have a heart attack. Also maybe it is or isn't pertinent but I've been taking a lot of ibuprofen for toothache pain lately.

Howdy Holey Mike!

First, those drug store machines STINK. If you're a big guy, the cuff is too small for your arm and it'll read higher than it should. I'd recommend getting it checked by a human being who has the right equipment (large cuff if you're a big'n) and knows how to take a blood pressure. The nurse at your primary care office will often do this for you for free.

Having said that, Ibuprofen has been linked (in a reversible way) to high blood pressure. Here's an article about just that: http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002299.html .

The other thing is, if your diastolic (the number on the bottom) pressure was 93, that's "stage I hypertension", not "pre-hypertension". The readout on that thing must be old.

High blood pressure is staged, so that doctors will know what to do with patients who present with it.

<140/90 prehypertension (both have to be lower)

140/90 - 159/99 stage I hypertension treatment: lifestyle and a single medication (usually)

> 160/100 Stage II hypertension treatment: lifestyle and probably two medications


So get your tooth fixed, see if you can get off the Ibuprofen, and have your BP checked by a human and I'll bet you're ok. If your BP is still high, your primary may prescribe a medication or try "therapeutic lifestyle changes" first, depending on how high it really is. This will include eating a better diet (do-able on the road...you know it is...it's just harder to do than eating a Whopper with fries!) and getting more exercise (also do-able...just really inconvenient on the road).

Your blood pressure is still very close to being normal. Congrats on the quitting smoking. You need to know what your cholesterol and blood sugar is to really know what your risk for heart disease is. The cool thing is, every single risk factor (except for genetics) is treatable or modifiable within modern medicine.

Hope this helps.


your pal,


Steve