Does anyone else notice that there blood pressure gets high during an attack. I Normally have low blood pressure. But every time i have gone to the ER during an attack it is high  but not until the attack is about 30-40 mins in. Is this my body's way of responding to the pain.?

Yes; reaction to pain and stress.

My normal BP is 100-110, went the ER once, to stop an "afterburn", and was at 165. Stopped a hit in my Neuro's parking lot once and was 147 during the appt.

Don

Yup. And I asked my neuro about whether the frequent hits could increase the risk of an aneurism. She did a test on me (I forget what it was called) to test the ceullar walls of my veins (arteries?) and found no damage. I still think its worth keeping an eye on. Like most here, it's hard to imagine that kind of stress would just stop when the hit stops, without lasting effect. Any other thoughts on this guys? blessings. lance

I have never checked mine before, but I'm certain it skyrockets when I realize an attack is coming on, just the "pre-attack, oh shit here it comes" jitters. When I look back at those 90 minute attacks I endured before oxygen, there's no doubt with all the rolling and poundng my BP must have been through the roof. As Bob said, it's the body's natural raction to stress, gearing up to fight it.

Joe

Blood pressure can vary considerably throughout the day. Some individuals have a higher degree of variability than others. Anything that causes stress can cause blood pressure to increase. For example, a near miss in a car may put some people's blood pressure up considerably.

Pain can increase blood pressure and heart rate by virtue of the fact that it increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight mechanism) resulting in release of adrenaline which constricts the blood vessels and speeds up the heart. However once the pain is relieved blood pressure and heart rate should return to normal levels.

However, pain can also cause what is known as a vagal response. In this case the parasympathetic nervous system gets activated and sends messages to the heart via the vagus nerve to slow down. So in some individuals we may see a decrease in HR and BP. Interesting isn't it how we can vary so much from one person to another.

Some anti-inflammatories can also affect blood pressure. See:
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Short term increases in blood pressure usually won't result in significant risk, unless you have an unusual suseptibility (eg aneurysm). Long term high blood pressure is not good though and is associated with greater likelihood of heart attack and stroke.

For what it is worth I have only ever checked my blood pressure once during an attack. I was in so much pain that presumed it would be high and my pulse rate also. However to my surprise both BP and HR where quite normal. I must think to check it again next time I have a bad one.

PS Ironically worrying about your BP being high is one of the things that can cause it to be high!

My blood pressure was very high every time I would go into the Dr. or ER.  My Dr. said the severe amount of pain I was under would do that to me.  I said well I am in extream pain 16 hours a day every day so she decided to put me on medication to lower my blood pressure.  You may want to bring this up to your dr. at your next Dr. visit.

The silver lining to that dark cloud....Verapamil is a front line prevent and a high blood pressure drug! ;)

Joe

I Normally have Low BP that's why i cannot take Verapamill. I have to take Topamax. My heart rate is always so high During an attack to they normally have to give me medicine for anxiety because my body is going in to such panic that they just try and knock me out once I get to the ER. In 2012 alone I have been to the ER a total of 25 times (mostly because there was a point and time when i did not have the best insurance and could not afford to go to my a Neurologist). I no this is bad but if i didn't go the the ER those times I probably would not be able to write you guys now, I honestly would have killed myself.

ref. msg #8: If I were still in practice (mental health counselor) I would be strongly encouraging you to see your primary care doc for a good work-up on causes of such extreme and frequent anxiety.

This may involve working with a cardiologist and/or a psychiatrist, I assume. But both the intensity of the anxiety and the suicidal urges should not be neglected.

yes i agree, i do see a primary care, i just don't want to be anymore doped up. I'm so tired all the time from the amount of medicine i'm already on. I am normally a very happy go lucky person but the amount of attacks that i have makes me feel useless as a mother, friend, and daughter. I think it honestly just gets the best of me sometimes.

I take BP meds as a matter of routine for hypertension unrelated to CH. As a matter of fact I have a stent in my right coronary artery. Without sounding too stupid, I hope, how do you guys tolerate these (what I consider) extreme dosages of verapimil!? My HR and BP would plummet to 0 if I took 700mg of that stuff! Now, admittedly, I take toprol and lisinopril as a matter of routine, but I can't quit those and take only the verapimil and also (although my cardiologist is ver compliant and understanding) my cardio man isn't in favor of any but the sustained release. Gimme some feedback. Whaddya think you would do? Oh, by the way, I am currently @ 120mh-ER vpmil. If it matters to anyone here is the resta my meds list
Lantus insulin 80u
Lyrica 100mg BID
Toprol 100mg BID
Lisinopril/HTCZ 20mg/25mg (that's a diuretic with it)
Lovastatin 40mg
Aspirin325mg
Hydrocodone/APAP 7.5/500    PRN
Imitrex injection 4 or 6mg
coffee upon hit!!

I also get a very high heart rate. Once when I went into ED with a headache they thought that their machine was faulty, but I usually have a tachycardic resting pulse anyway. My blood pressure is always normal though. I had someone in the medical field recently tell me that if me blood pressure wasn't really high then I wasn't actually in that much pain which annoyed me. I asked my GP about it and she firmly debunked that claim.

Sorry if I just bumped an old thread! I didn't think about that.