Diagnosis Don't hesitate to come back.

Knight

Well-known Member
Thursday morning about 4:30 a/m a pain in the left side of my chest woke me. Thought hmm this is unusual, probably should take a couple of aspirins to get rid of the pain. 45 minutes later the pain was still there.

Hmm probably should check my blood pressure & blood oxygen level. Blood pressure @187 over 90. That got my attention. Typical everyday is 124 over 57. Next thought wake my wife or tough it out & maybe she would find me dead in bed. Chose to wake her & have her drive me to the emergency part of the hospital.

Walked in pretty calm, as they do they verified my ability to pay then asked me to explain to the triage nurse the reason for my visit. The nurse check my vitals. Their more accurate equipment showed blood pressure 220 over 100. They seemed concerned!!!

I was taken back to an area for testing. The ER doctor said this doesn't look good we'll need to admit you for more comprehensive testing. I already knew that.

Several tests later, some chemicals to lower blood pressure & hooked to oxygen the next morning my stats were 114 over 54. The doctor diagnosed my spike as an unknown reason for blood pressure spiking so if you experience this again. As the thread title says.

Don't hesitate to come back

The good news is my wife was happy for the decision I made.

Keeping with the Health Insurance theme

And because of my Medicare advantage plan I have zero out of pocket costs.
 

I hope they ran heart tests. That happened to me at 50 when I was in great shape between exercising and weight. Turns out besides HBP I had a too fast erratic heart rate both of which are controlled with a beta blocker.

They also ran tests to rule out blockages. The doctor said it was a miracle that I hadn’t had a stroke especially while exercising. I went to the er and they kept me for a day to run tests and for the hospital cardiologist to say I was safe to leave.
 

During my first knee replacement surgery (April 2022) my BP was over 180 & change. They told me that was "stroke territory." It remained high all summer and Dr. was on the verge of putting me on BP Meds but, after my second knee replacement surgery (Sept 2022) it dropped back to 122/67. One of the reasons given was that, inflammation of the arthritis in the knees could make it rise.

Glad you're okay. Thanks for sharing your experience - I hope it will encourage more people to take action!
 
Walked in pretty calm, as they do they verified my ability to pay then asked me to explain to the triage nurse the reason for my visit. The nurse check my vitals. Their more accurate equipment showed blood pressure 220 over 100. They seemed concerned!!!
Years ago when I was quite heavy I had a couple incidents like this. Has the Dr. suggested that you schedule a cardiac stress test?
 
The "Unknown Cause" thing sometimes drives me crazy. I've never had a BP issue, but I have an erratic blood sugar issue.
I'll start having typical symptoms of high sugar, I'll test at 350-450. No reason for it; I ate the same thing without a spike & no change in exercise. But luckily, I don't have to go to the ER; the remedy is in my fridge - fast-acting insulin.
Well, sorta fast acting. It usually takes a couple of hours before I feel well. And I can't safely do anything while I'm waiting because sometimes my sugar will drop too low, which is much more dangerous.
Really frustrating when it happens at bedtime; it means I won't be sleeping until around 4:00 to 5:00 am.
 
Years ago when I was quite heavy I had a couple incidents like this. Has the Dr. suggested that you schedule a cardiac stress test?
That stress test was done as part of the other tests they did. Unlike a tread mill test they did a chemical test that really doesn't feel very good. Instant headache, instant difficulty breathing & instant need to use bathroom.

They did a pre chemical chest picture of my heart at rest, then another picture scan of my heart being stressed by the chemical.

Sono grams, X-rays, EKG's every 4 hours blood pressure tests. They really were good about making sure I knew step by step what they were going to do.
 
Turns out besides HBP I had a too fast erratic heart rate both of which are controlled with a beta blocker.
That's a classic sign of AFIB where a beta blocker is often prescribed. You might want to check that further because AFIB will increase your stroke risk considerably. Many people are in AFIB & don't even know it.
 
You did the right
Thursday morning about 4:30 a/m a pain in the left side of my chest woke me. Thought hmm this is unusual, probably should take a couple of aspirins to get rid of the pain. 45 minutes later the pain was still there.

Hmm probably should check my blood pressure & blood oxygen level. Blood pressure @187 over 90. That got my attention. Typical everyday is 124 over 57. Next thought wake my wife or tough it out & maybe she would find me dead in bed. Chose to wake her & have her drive me to the emergency part of the hospital.

Walked in pretty calm, as they do they verified my ability to pay then asked me to explain to the triage nurse the reason for my visit. The nurse check my vitals. Their more accurate equipment showed blood pressure 220 over 100. They seemed concerned!!!

I was taken back to an area for testing. The ER doctor said this doesn't look good we'll need to admit you for more comprehensive testing. I already knew that.

Several tests later, some chemicals to lower blood pressure & hooked to oxygen the next morning my stats were 114 over 54. The doctor diagnosed my spike as an unknown reason for blood pressure spiking so if you experience this again. As the thread title says.

Don't hesitate to come back

The good news is my wife was happy for the decision I made.

Keeping with the Health Insurance theme

And because of my Medicare advantage plan I have zero out of pocket costs.
You did the right thing by going to the ER, @Knight! Checking your BP daily and keeping a log will give you an idea if this was a blip or a trend. Good luck!
 
The top notch Cleveland Clinic website has lots of reliable information about heart disease which is what BP spikes and racing heart might indicate. Also, check out the American Heart Association's information and see a cardiologist.
 
Hmm probably should check my blood pressure & blood oxygen level. Blood pressure @187 over 90. That got my attention. Typical everyday is 124 over 57.
Theirir more accurate equipment showed blood pressure 220 over 100. They seemed concerned!!!
Not bad, I scored 300 (more like unreadable) during my CHF 0/10 (would not recommend!)

But thankfully you are still here as I am.
 
Actually my cardiologist at the time said people get tachycardia without heart disease and they have no clue why. Luckily I am in that category. I don’t even need to see a cardiologist anymore because it’s such a minor issue. The only thing different is that before surgery they do an ekg to be safe and mine are always perfect.
 

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