My mom’s blood pressure has been below 130/70 for about a month (ranging from 120/80-130/70 or something like that she says) (but sometimes her blood pressure goes lower than 120/80) without taking any medication, is she still considered as hypertensive? She’s been exercising everyday (brisk walks and aerobics) and having a balanced diet. She is 42 years old. Her highest recorded blood pressure was 145/90, and that was december last year. Does she still need to take medication? And is it true that once a hypertensive, always a hypertensive?
It is not true that once a hypertensive, always a hypertensive. When you are measuring blood pressure, single readings are not something on which to base any sort of treatment. At any particular time during the day your blood pressure can vary. In fact it can vary from one minute to the next. It depends on your level of activity emotional state and any other medical condition that may affect it. If a couple of successive readings are very high….. lets say….in the vicinity of 170/95 then that is definitely a reason for concern. In your mother’s case, her readings are fairly close to normal. In order to get a realistic picture of a her actual resting blood pressure, at least 5 readings should be taken throughout the day. Morning after waking(before the morning coffee), 3 more during the day and one in the evening (at least 3 hours after a meal). All these readings should be taken when seated, at rest for at least 5 minutes and not under any emotional stress. The upper arm should be at the same level as your heart. Record the readings for at least 2 days. Then discard the highest and lowest readings and average the rest. The result will give a good picture of her actual resting blood pressure. With a good diet and exercise she may not need the medication. A systolic of 130 is considered borderline high blood pressure. The fact that she has had some readings lower than 120/80 appears to indicate she is doing quite well. If she stops taking the medication she should keep track of her blood pressure for any increase.
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