blood pressure and cpap

I have been giving a lot of thought to self-regulation of blood pressure recently. Since my blood pressure started to rise out of the normal range several years ago I have been able to control it without medication by exercising. Lap swimming works best for me but I have given it up twice in the last two years, once because of vertigo and once after having trouble breathing deeply following a 45-minute swim. Alternatively, when I walk on a treadmill and work out on gym machines I can generally stay within the normal range. The key for me is regular exercise. I have studied mindfulness meditation and have some tapes but I have not gotten into daily practice yet although I believe it would help.

When I don't stay on an exercise regimen my BP goes up rather quickly. This happened two weeks ago when I had some foot calluses removed and did not exercise at all for four days because of the discomfort. Not only did I not exercise, but I spent all day and half the night in static postures at my desk and computer. I should have done some yoga stretches but did not. The fourth night I got some chest pain and became frightened because I have severe aortic stenosis. I checked my heart rate on my watch monitor and found it to be 53, lower than I'd ever seen it. Then I checked my blood pressure and it was very high so I checked it again because it will usually be lower on the second reading. I kept getting errors, which was agitating, and when I did get readings they were higher every time and I felt panicky. Then I started shaking and got really cold. I topped out at 224/116.

I had my husband call my cardiologist and while we waited for a return call I went into the chat room here to ask questions about how high a BP is too high and needs immediate attention. GumbyCT, I remember your asking why I would be asking that of complete strangers. Well, I was asking you strangers because you are a bright group and I find a lot of good information among your postings and thought someone would have a ready answer. I wanted to know at what point to call an ambulance. When my cardiologist called back and spoke with my husband she said I should stop taking my BP because I was becoming more agitated and forcing it higher. The adrenaline rush caused the shaking and chills. I got on the phone and wanted to know what to do if I was having a heart attack and she explained that my valve condition would not lead to chest pains but I would become increasing fatigued over time and may eventually need a valve replacement. We discussed what I should do overnight if the chest pains returned (they did not) and when I asked how she would advise her mother if she had such symptoms she said she would tell her to stop measuring BP and go to bed. So I followed her advice and the next morning my BP was 133/76.

Since then I am taking my BP twice a day and noting how I feel at the time. I am also comparing the readings with the type and quantity of exercise I am doing each day and there is a strong correlation between working out and healthy BP readings. I would like to avoid taking medications. It is important for me to exercise to help compensate for a failing valve.

Starting CPAP therapy has not made any appreciable difference with my BP. It was high before my sleep apnea diagnosis and after participating in a heart program I learned that it will be elevated if I don't exercise every day. I hope to get back to swimming laps; my BP pretty reliably is about 110/70 when I swim 3X/week.

Oh, and I asked my cardiologist what is the magic number when one's BP gets so dangerously high they should head for the ER and she said 240 over anything. She also confirmed that an ambulance will take me to the nearest hospital, something I had fretted about because I live a distance from the good heart centers in my area.

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Thanks socknister, I think you're probably right. I HAVE to get 100% compliant. I have thought it might my mouth leaking as well as not enough time on the machine, so recently tried a head binding thing to keep my mouth shut. It seemed to reduce mouth dryness greatly (ie I was leaking). My problem is I wake after about two-three hours and feel I 'need break' so take off the mask and promise myself I'll put it back on 'in a minute' and wake up 3 hours later. I sleep by myself so my wife can't nudge me and say "put the mask back on"
So probably the BP problem IS related directly to not actually being on CPAP. If I was compliant, then I will probably see some improvement in blood pressure.
This CPAP stuff sure is difficult isn't it?!
Thanks for the forum..it's a great help

Just to throw my experience in, for what it's worth:

I didn't have high blood pressure when I started on CPAP. I'd always had very low blood pressure, 90/70 was my normal. Now, since starting CPAP in June of '06, my blood pressure averages 120/80. It's still in the 'normal' range, so I'm not extremely worried about it, but I do find it curious. Of course, it could just be a coincidence, in that I'm 47 and could be having elevated blood pressure related to menopause coming on, or other factors. Elevated blood pressure after menopause does run in my family... darn it...

Min

[quote="michaelho"]Thanks socknister, I think you're probably right. I HAVE to get 100% compliant. I have thought it might my mouth leaking as well as not enough time on the machine, so recently tried a head binding thing to keep my mouth shut. It seemed to reduce mouth dryness greatly (ie I was leaking). My problem is I wake after about two-three hours and feel I 'need break' so take off the mask and promise myself I'll put it back on 'in a minute' and wake up 3 hours later. I sleep by myself so my wife can't nudge me and say "put the mask back on"
So probably the BP problem IS related directly to not actually being on CPAP. If I was compliant, then I will probably see some improvement in blood pressure.
This CPAP stuff sure is difficult isn't it?!
Thanks for the forum..it's a great help