Fluctuating BP, for a Lyme friend

[WillowJ]

Someone with Lyme disease asked me to ask for her:

She has usually fairly normal bp, but slightly high in the afternoons. Lately, however, it has been going very low, for instance 89/49 or 99/51, and then spiking quite high, for instance 174/72.

She has been checked for adrenal and pituitary tumors, and the scans were negative.

Does anybody have any experience with this? Her cardiologist recommended a nitroglycerine pill, but that doesn't help.

I am sending her the link to Meadowlark's high blood pressure thread, and I sent her also Dr. Myhill's site explaining that blood pressure spikes could be from food intolerances (among other things, but that sounded possible as it seems to happen at a similar time of day), and the Dinet site.

Any more resources or experiences to share?

Thanks.

 

[Undisclosed]

BP can fluctuate wildly during the day. It's normal depending on a whole bunch of variables. My BP is highly variable -- 160 over 100 when in a stressful situation. 90 over 46 when relaxed and lying down with a heart rate of 45. A variable BP is not, in itself pathological and does not require treatment.

The BP's you quoted are not abnormal. The diastolic number is the most important with 90 being the upper limit of normal.

My suggestion. Get a BP cuff and measure BP over a week at rest and with activity. A doctor can easily read the values. Occasional spikes mean very little, it's the more constant values that mean alot.

 

[sandgroper]

Is it related to when she is upright......do you know how to do a poor man's tilt test?