what is considered high blood pressure?

sigmaurse · April 2013

Ok so I'm an ICU nurse and I know what normal blood pressure is in general but I have no clue for pregnant women. At what point do they start to worry about your blood pressure and what measures do they take BEFORE bed rest? Do they start you on meds first or go straight to bed rest? I'm almost 28 weeks and can not afford to go on bed rest for any reason at all and I'm worried because today my SBP was in the 140's when I woke up for a nap before heading to work night shift. It's never been that high, it's usually 122 after walking into the doctors office and getting up on the table etc. I already have a doctors appointment on tuesday for my 28 wk checkup. I'm now really worried about this. I've noticed my heart rate is much lower then it usually is but still within normal range. I'm now wondering if it's because of my blood pressure. I haven't had any protein in my urine so far but I've also had normal blood pressure. What do you guys think? I know you aren't doctors but I know some of you are being treated for high bp so you can tell me what your docs have done. Can you ease my mind until tuesday?! PLEASE!

LAWalsh105 · April 2013

I was put on bed rest for high BP, no meds were offered. I am 37 weeks and they are talking about induction if it keeps staying high.

luvboston · April 2013

140 is high I would avoid salt and rest as much as possible. Medication depends on the person and also if you have swelling.

ArizonaJessika · April 2013

I've been as high as 150's/90's and they still didn't put me on medicine or strict bed rest....they told me they usually wait til 160's/90's to put women on medicines and bed rest. Luckily, my BP started coming down in the third trimester to like the 130-140's/70-80's and because I'm always high, they say that's good/ok

sigmaurse · April 2013

Ok you guys are making me feel a little bit better. I'm at work tonight so i'll try to take my blood pressure a few times when i'm resting and see what it is. If it remains in the 140's i'll call the doctor in the morning. I'm just trying to hold off until my appointment on tuesday. I would much rather take meds if possible because if I have to go on bedrest i'll have to pay full price for my benefits which will be expensive! Obviously i'll do what I need to do for my babies health but I'm already planning on a short maternity leave due to this. My short term disability doesn't kick in until I've worked here 1 yr which is in January. Thanks for your reply's of what your docs have done.

kuetgal · April 2013

Hi! For DD I developed gestation hypertension around 28 weeks. They consider anything over 140/90 to be elevated. For that pregnancy, they put me on bed rest and I was in and out of the hospital for it. I was also on a controlled (low sodium diet). I swear I ate boiled chicken and veggies all the time. I also had severe swelling and it was assumed that I would turn pre-e. At 33.5 weeks I delivered my daughter due to PROM and at my last urine collection I had trace amounts of protien. So, I guess I as on my way to pre-e, but delivered first. With DS (current) I was placed on bp meds as soon as I walked into my 1st dr appointment. I asked "why did they not do this the first time?" The dr told me that to be prescribed meds you usually have to have a history of elevated bp and it should be considered a preexisting condition, not gestationally induced. That being said, I have read several people on here being put on medication. She explained that it was because the bp meds can mask pre-e so they want to be careful and only put people on meds that have a history. This time, the meds have worked great and I've stayed off of bed rest so far (30 weeks currently) and have been out of the hospital. Best of luck!

sigmaurse · April 2013

Thanks for the replys and stories. I called the office this morning. I just heard back from the nurse. I'm suppose to go in the morning to get some blood drawn so the results are back in the afternoon for my test. She mentioned getting a uric acid test, along with other things, which I'm not sure why. I'm not questioning her, but since I'm a nurse I like to understand everything and I can't figure out how a uric acid test fits with my symptoms. I'll research it tonight while i'm resting lol.

kkee08 · April 2013

140/90 is what they look for in pregnant women they will usually try modified bedrest to see if that helps lower BP. Most Dr do not give meds for this while pregnant theypprefer bed rest plus medicine takes a while to work.

starrkitten89 · April 2013

I was told 140/90 was high for pregnant women. When I went to my 28 week checkup, my BP was 142/90 when I arrived. They checked it again toward the end of the appointment and it was higher; 152/91. I was told to go to the hospital from the doctors office. I stayed there for 2 days while they checked for pre-e (which luckily I had no protein in my urine and my BPs returned to completely normal with bed rest). They think for me it was stress/ activity related, they took me out of work and put me on modified bed rest, which has since been lifted (I can do whatever I can tolerate) and I have had perfect BPs since. Good luck!

sigmaurse · April 2013

starrkitten89:
I was told 140/90 was high for pregnant women. When I went to my 28 week checkup, my BP was 142/90 when I arrived. They checked it again toward the end of the appointment and it was higher; 152/91. I was told to go to the hospital from the doctors office. I stayed there for 2 days while they checked for pre-e (which luckily I had no protein in my urine and my BPs returned to completely normal with bed rest). They think for me it was stress/ activity related, they took me out of work and put me on modified bed rest, which has since been lifted (I can do whatever I can tolerate) and I have had perfect BPs since. Good luck!

I seriously hope this happens for me. I can not afford to be off work right now. I have no PTO built up and will have to pay full price for my medical insurance after not working for 2 weeks. Obviously i'll do what I have to do for my baby boy to cook as long as possible but this would not be easy for us financially since we are paying for 2 houses at the moment. I sooooo hope I do not have protein in my urine and my uric acid is normal so I will just be dealing with high blood pressure. I'm scared and I have to go to the appointment alone.

HereWeGo2014 · April 2013

FWIW - they usually tell you not to take your BP immediately upon waking since it tends to be highest in the morning when you wake. Not sure how different it would be after a nap.

what is considered high blood pressure?

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