Hypertension or Anxiety?

Hey mamas I need your opinions please. I’m currently 14+5. When I went for my booking appointment last month, my midwife noticed that my blood pressure was reading slightly higher at 134/89. She took my readings a few more times and then decided that she’d do it at the end of the appointment just incase I needed time to calm myself down. At the end she redone my vitals and it was still giving high readings so she referred me to the hypertension clinic. On Wednesday just gone I visited the clinic and the first reading I got was 123/89. The doctor ultimately said that it wasn’t alarmingly high but it’s something they should monitor throughout my pregnancy. She gave me the option of starting meds immediately or buying a BP monitor and taking readings at home so that we can be more informed of what’s going on before making a decision. I decided to go with the latter just because I wanted to see what my BP readings would be like at home. My BP monitor arrived the next day and later that day my readings were within the normal range. My diastolic readings have not gone above 82. Something seems weird here, I don’t understand why my readings are normal at home and high at the hospital. Am I using my monitor wrong or do I get high blood pressure by just being at the hospital?? When I think back to my booking appointment I remember the night before I had consumed a lot of salt. My husband had made salmon which was quite salty but I didn’t realise because I was so hungry and I also had a lot ready salted Pringles. Since then I’ve been conscious to avoid salty and processed foods and have been intentional about including more protein and potassium in my diet. Could it be that? Also, I’m aware that the last time I was at the same hospital I had a MMC which was really traumatic and so could it be that I still get anxiety or stress about maybe receiving bad news for this pregnancy? Anyways, I appreciate this is a long read and thank you for sticking around to this point. I guess my question is could I be right about my pressure only being elevated at the hospital due to stress/anxiety or should consider starting the meds even though my readings at home have been normal. Thank you so much in advance xx

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I’d say anxiety, I’m usually the same! Every appointment I have my heart rate and blood pressure are high and it’s definitely just me working myself up. When I was pregnant with my little boy they thought I had a heart condition because everytime I got monitored (I had reduced movements) my heart rate was 130😂 they sent me for an ecg and echo too😂😂😂

You could have white coat syndrome which is basically a fear of doctors, hospitals etc. I had high blood pressure during my last pregnancy but it didn't come on until late into the pregnancy and was consistently high. The worry is if you take the meds and it's normal at home, you could then cause your blood pressure to be too low. I would keep monitoring at home 😊

I’m currently the same- monitoring at home and it’s absolutely normal! I do think i have anxiety at the doctors/hospital because with my first pregnancy my BP went high at 39weeks to the point where I was induced because of it. They want to keep a close eye on it this time and have told me to take low dose aspirin daily as this helps keep it down as well x

@Chelsea That’s interesting! The doctor prescribed me aspirin too and when I asked if it helps with my BP she said it doesn’t help with lowering blood pressure but that it helps with making sure baby gets enough blood through the placenta. Something about blood becoming sticky and not passing through the placenta properly with high BP.

@Natalya wow! I think you could be right. It’s crazy how the body works when you think about all this. With my firstborn I had normal BP and never had any issues so I just wonder if it’s because of the trauma from last year.

@Kirsty this is my worry too. I didn’t pick up my prescription because I was thinking what if I’m ok and I take it and it has an adverse effect?? I will most definitely keep monitoring at home. Thank you xx

I would just keep an eye on it, 83 is still a little higher than they would like. If they think it is high they can prescribe aspirin so the blood can get through to the placenta xx

@Gemma absolutely! I’ve made note of my at home readings so far and I’ve only had one diastolic reading of 81. The rest have been 75/76. I will speak to them and see if they’re happy with it and see what they recommend.

I have been in exact same boat. Lower readings at home while only higher at doctor’s.I do feel my heart beating out of my chest for some reason everytime i go to my aptmt.I am taking low dose aspirin though and really worried

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