My pre-op didnt go so well. I get really stressed in hospitals and my blood pressure was ridiculous. They took it 4 times and the lowest reading was 143/90. They made me have an ecg which was normal. I’m really stressed now that they will cancel my lumpectomy. I took my BP at home when i got back and it was 122/81. I’ve taken it several times since and it’s normal but the hospital think I have dangerously high BP. Will they cancel my op? So worried now.
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Hi they will allow for stress it is a very stressful time , I always get white coat syndrome and blood pressure goes up
Last time they gave me something to relax me which helped . They will look after you and help you relax , I know it’s a difficult time and hard to get your head around all the tests and results it’s very over whelming , try talking to someone it helps I also learnt some breathing exercises which helped , hope all goes well for you x
Hi @bluesatsuma
I always have high bp when taken at doctors or in hospital. Mine was 155 ish at pre op and similar on day of op but ok at home. WLE still went ahead ok.
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I have exactly the same issue each time I have my blood pressure taken in a medical
setting ( it’s fine at home ) ,if you have a normal ECG they don’t seem too concerned . I’ve never had an op cancelled due to it and I’ve had quite a few . Modern anaesthetics are very safe and they monitor you really carefully . Hope it goes smoothly .
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My BP was through the roof at pre assessment to the extent that the Dr. said if it did t go down I would need to be admitted for treatment - systolic of 200 +.This obviously made it worse. I have high blood pressure anyway and ended up on a second medication as I was not allowed to take the original one within 24 hours of anaesthetic .
I had an ECG which was normal and my BP went down when they gave me a few minutes to myself .
143/90 may be high for you and if it is normally that high (but it doesn’t sound as though it is ) it would just about put you into the category where they would advise you to see your GP to get medication for it but it wouldn’t be high enough to be dangerous for surgery. 143/90 really isn’t bad though you didn’t say what the highest one was . A lot of us suffer from white coat syndrome and they are used to dealing with this kind of thing - by doing an ECG they are covering all bases and checking that your BP isn’t affecting your heart ( it’s obviously not as it was normal ). If you’re over a certain age they do them automatically anyway .
You could try some abdominal breathing or relaxation which are calming and can help reduce the BP .
If you’re anything like like me by the time the op came around I just wanted it done and was feeling much calmer and my BP was 132/85 on admission. They do make allowances for anxiety and this won’t get you cancelled.
Wishing you all the best
Joanne x
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Hi @bluesatsuma, i had issues with my blood pressure pre-opp. I have a monitor at home so I took readings and recorded them on a bp app, so i could share with the anaesthetist if needed. If nothing else it made me feel better knowing that my blood pressure was ok.
Also, they really don’t like cancelling cancer surgery, i had my lumpectomy last week when the junior doctor strikes were on, and they were the only surgeries still happening, thankfully
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Try not to worry I was exactly the same and worried like you but they operated no problem. They told me they expect it as they know how stressful the situation can be.
Wishing you the best with everything.
Bookie
Mine is much higher than that so I’m not sure what constitutes dangerously high blood pressure. I am being given a monitor to wear day and night for a while to see how much it varies over day and night. I can’t collect it from my GP for a week cos I’m too busy!
Seagulls
Thank you to everyone who has replied. I feel better knowing im not alone. Yes my highest reading was 164/92. There was a poster on the wall saying that 160 and above is severe. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what they do. Goodluck with your treatments everyone.
Thank you
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Hi @bluesatsuma
On the morning of my op my BP was also sky high, about 145/95 which alarmed me as it’s usually 110/65 or something like that.
The surgery went ahead with no problems.
I think it would be unusual if we weren’t petrified before surgery, and of course, that elevates the BP, just as everyone has reassured you!
Don’t worry, they want to do the surgery, and I’m sure it will all be fine in the long run.
Take care
Karen x
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I wouldn’t worry. I have white coat syndrome from when i was a nurse and we had to manually take high blood pressures (which are hard) so had to force ours high to practice.
Even talking about BP and mine goes sky-high.
When I was sterilized, mine was 210/130 to start with 
It did come down to 160ish/95. The op still went ahead.
TBH 143/90 when you are stressed out isn’t that bad.
Easy said than done, but try not to worry. If I have my BP done now, I do square breathing before appointments and when I don’t need to talk in them - in deep for 4, hold for 4, out 4 for, hold for 4 - repeat lots.
I did this in June when I had a knee replacement - never over 130/82 for any BP recording pre and post op over 3 days. That’s really good for me in a medical environment.
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Thank you for your reassuring comments. I took BP twice today - 107/75 and 122/82. I think both are normal. I’m keeping a record of them all just in case. But having spoken to you lovely people in my phone, i feel much better so thank you. 
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Yes those are both normal - really good actually. Particularly 107/75 .Yes it’s not a bad thing to have a record - the way I was told to record it was to wait 30 mins after exercise then take 2 readings 5 minutes apart and record the best one. Don’t get too hung up on it though you don’t need to do it every single day.
Xx
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Yes, they call it the ‘white coat syndrome’. My GP arranged for me to carry a blood pressure monitor for 24h (fitted at my local pharmacy) and this settled the matter, BP was normal all that time. Since that time my blood pressure has never been high. It’s weird what the mind does.
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Thanks all. I feel reassured x
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I would suggest that you record some home BP over a several days and take it with you. That’s what I did because my BP is always high at the Dr’s. I also had an ecg which was abnormal but the anaesthetist was still happy to go ahead.
I can’t tell you what decision they will make for you but they will look at the risk factors and decide.
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