ray2gill

Bussy Bees right! Exercise also reduces blood pressure. A brisk walk for 20 - 30 minutes everyday works wonders.

I think if you get the blood pressure under control you will be ok whether by medication or other means.

Think of this as a life saving exercise without the medical would you have known? Start with gentle exercise and take Bussy Bees advise and see your GP pronto.

Chin up and good luck.
Gillian.

dani

If your BP is consistently high despite anti-hypersentives please get a cardiology report.
My BP was 190/110 at my first medical and got it checked over a few weeks at GP's, she gave me betablockers 25mg, upped it to 50mg then 100mg daily. It gave me an acceptable level for meds but I was like a zombie.

Got here, had to have it checked again - sent to Cardiologist who investigated and found I had a stenosis in my renal artery. That was two weeks after arrival, one month later in hospital for angiogram then two months after that angioplasty and stent. BP normal now and very little antihypertensives.
Coming to Australia saved my life!!

Good luck
Dani

Sass73

I suffer really badly from white coat syndrome and had to go and get a script from the doctor last week. Had the blood pressure taken and it was 160/90. I tried explaining that it is definitely a case of white coat - and I should know! but she wouldn't accept it Wants me to have another BP check and have my cholesterol levels taken. Bo!!ocks to that. Means I'll have to cut out all my takeaways.
And why is it, when doctors know that talking can increase BP, do they keep asking you bloody questions when they are taking it?

Sass

Graham67

Hi DEB this is a nightmare for you guys. I had the same problems and had to pay for private treatment to have a 24 hour tape monitor fitted which in the end I passed. The cost was tape monitor £197.00 Electrocardiogram £72.00 and both will be required to satisfy the Oz doctors. In the end I was told that I suffer from a condition "white coat syndrome" which basically means that I get nervous and my blood pressure goes through the roof when I visit a doctors surgery. In normal life my blood pressure is fairly normal. First I'd heard of this condition. Your husband may have the same problem. It's quite common.
A wee bit of advice. Make sure he gets this fixed as a copy of this report goes to his local GP which goes on his medical records. My big problem now is that when I applied to our insurance company to up my personal insurance and also mortgage protection insurance they refused to increase my cover and insisted on a full medical before considering my application.

Good luck and dont worry a course of water tablets may cure this problem for him. Your GP will advise you of the best course of action and medication to bring down his blood pressure.

Graham Summers

Bella Donna

What's interesting me here is that several of you have mentioned having to pay for 24-hour monitors, ECGs, etc.

Surely, if your blood pressure is high enough to warrant this sort of investigation for the visa process, your GPs should also consider it high enough to need investigation, and provide this monitoring on the NHS?

Either it's high or it's not....? Can't be high for Oz but not for the UK. The values are universal.

Just seems a bit unfair that anyone still in the UK should have to pay for blood pressure assessment/treatment. After all, if you weren't emigrating, the NHS would be picking up the tab when you had a heart attack/stroke.

mick_newcastle

Have been told by a panel doctor that they will not refuse a visa on Just high bloodpressure - I was assured that a third of the adult population have this anyway.
I had an ECG a month before to make sure that everything was OK - paid for by the NHS as my blood pressure was high at a meeting with the practice nurse. - ECG was perfectly normal included this with my medical along with a letter from my GP stating previous readings and that I had white coat hypertension - or fear of blood pressure tests I backed this up by consistantly recording my own reading - normal readings were 120/80 upto 130/86.
I now personally dont care about BP - have worried enough and this alone raises your BP.
I watch what I eat - dont add salt and try not to stress too much about this.
At no point has my GP ever offered medication or stated my blood pressure is a problem - so I take it im ok