Join now

Already a member? Sign in

Welcome to Inspire!

What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.

Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.

How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!

corner corner corner

Correlations anemia and hypertension

Annasvenska
0 Recommendations

Hi

I have always had a good bloodpressure (except for when delivering babies due to some preeclampsia) but during my hospital stay I was so hypertensive so they put me on Bp meds (toprol) for a while. The docs felt that it was due to my bowel obstruction and it would resolve on its own. The BP has gone down but is still high ,earlier today it was 150/98 but went down to 138/87. I am also anemic I think my hemoglobin was 8 and 9 at the hospital and I am curious if there could be any correlation between BP and anemia. I am also having some blurry vision (I know its a sign of hypertension but I had it after my last surgery for a while when I was anemic as well)

I am seeing a new internist tomorrow as well as my urologist ut I am just curious about your expertise.

Thanks,

Anna

Explore topics in this discussion:

Dehydration Surgery Anemia Hypertension Pain Cataract Preeclampsia Stress

15 replies

lsh

Anna,

First off, I have no expertise. When my husband was having his BMT, MDA transfused when your hemoglobin went as low as 8. If I thought I was that anemic,, I would try to eat spinach, liver and other foods that help hemoglobin levels as often as possible. Good luck at the docs. Let us know what he says.

Lynda

jj803

Hi Anna,

I would think that the docs at the hospital thought the pain and stress had increased the bp. I don't think anemia is usually causative in hypertension. And as Lynda says things to increase your iron. I expect with your attention to healthy diet that you are doing that, but if not then iron rich foods and you might want to consider an iron supplement. Best wishes,

JJ

15yrsurvivor

Anna, I trust you are doing better now! That is good news for all of us.

I read that anemia can be connected to high blood pressure. Isolated systolic hypertension is a condition where only the first number is elevated. This is the systolic number. With this type of high blood pressure, the second or bottom, number remains normal or slightly below.

Another source said that anemia can cause high blood pressure and rapid heartbeat. Insufficient iron in your system results in insufficient oxygen to vital organs, which causes the body to compensate by raising blood pressure.

So glad to have you back!

balihigh

Anna,
I am so happy that you are doing better. After my RC surgery, I experienced high blood pressure. I never had that problem before. It was high during my whole hospital stay and the doctor sent me home with a blood pressure medicine. However, he said that after I finished that bottle of pills to watch my bp and see my internist. My bp went back to normal, usually 110/60 with no meds. I don't know the relation to anemia. I did not have that.
Keep healing!
Hugs,
Nancy

nancynursez637

ANEMIA CAUSES INCREASED HEART RATE SOMETIMES TRYING TO KEEP OXYGEN LEVELS UP, BUT AS JJ SAID, IT IS NOT A KNOWN CAUSE OF HYPERTENSION. OVERVIEW OF HYPERTENSION, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY BELOW
NANCY

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/highbp/HBP_causes.html

nancynursez637

i STAND CORRECTED, anemia can cause isolated systolic hypertension according to the article in the last post, i missed that when reviewing the article the first time

Nancy

jj803

Thanks all for your input on this issue. I, like Nancy, remembered the tachycardia and potential heart problems from anemias, but either was not aware or had forgotten the systolic hypertension part. The good part is that Anna sees her new internest soon and can get clarification of these issues.

JJ

Annasvenska

Both the systolic as well as the diastolic pressure has been high however they are not nearly as high now as a couple of weeks ago when I had some readings of 170/100.

Thanks to all of you!!

SilverGrizzly

Hi Anna,
So good to have you back and feeling better. After my bladder biopsy August 3, I was back in the hopsital August 5th when a bladder artery started bleeding. By the time they rushed me into emergency surgery to stop the bleeding, my homaglobin was down to 7.4. I was in the hospital four days and while there had high blood pressure, which is totally unusual for me. Usually everyone comments on how LOW my blood pressure is.

They said that the high blood pressure was because I was having symptoms from the anemia--my heart was working overtime to try to get the blood to my brain. I had a lot of rapid heartbeat along with the high blood pressure.

I chose not to have a blood transfusion, and instead took three iron pills a day and ate lots of spinach and kale and other dark greens. I used Solgar Brand Gentle Iron, as the regular iron makes me very constipated, and this brand did not. My iron returned to normal in about two months. My blood pressured returned to normal much sooner than that, though.

Though I did go back to the hospital for dehydration at one point. My thirst mechanism wasn't working right, and my blood volume got too low. So I recommend drinking PLENTY of water, and using a gentle non-constipating iron supplement instead of the kind you find in most supplements.

I still have thirst problems in the morning, even though it is now almost three months later. Ah, what we go through...anyway, so glad you are doing better. -Jan

browns-crossing

Anna,
I am so glad you are home and better. Your vision could be related to your BP. Talk to your doctor about it, he will look at your eyes.
Is your neo bladder working OK? I am in the hospital right now. Have quite a bad urine and kidney infection. Was quite sick. Hopefully going home soon, but so glad to hear from you.
Browns Crossing

Annasvenska

Thanks SilverGrizzly for your recommendations!

Brownscrossing I am sorry to hear that you are back in the hospital with kidney infection. I do hope you get to go home soon.

My BP has improved but my eyesight is still not great. I have been wearing reading glasses for a while now buut I have noticed that I can't see very well at far distances either. My internist yesterday suggested I go to an opthalmologist so today I am seeing an optometrist (didn't have any opthalmologists appointments available until midnovember). My mom said she had read somewhere that eyesight can decrease temporarily after major surgeries. Not sure if its true or not.

nancynursez637

Optometrists can test eyes and prescribe glasses but are not as well versed in diseases and medical conditions of the eyes. They cannot treat conditions of the eyes but should refer you if they find something,

NancyN

spaisley39

Hi Anna!
We are so happy that you are finally home! You were in our thoughts while you were away. I hope you are feeling better everyday. Your body has gone through so much as I would assume could be a reason for the BP. I'm not aware of vision and anemia correlation but hopefully your new Doctor and resolve all of this for you. Again..glad your home and recovering more everyday!
Stacy

jmch

FYI, had anemia due to bleeding from fibroids long ago, ate lots of raisin bran and dragged out the cast iron pots and pans (which in turn encouraged a rash of fried chicken cooking but that's another story). Honest, using cast iron is a source of dietary iron (we have since had to put them away because Craig had too much iron!)
Glad you are finally home Anna!

Annasvenska

It turned out I was both far and nearsighted and needed bifocals as well as having an oildroop cataract in my left eye.

Anna

Add to the discussion

Don't have an Inspire account? Join now!

Forgot password?

Related links from BCAN

Researchers are looking for bladder cancer survivors to complete a telephone survey. Click here for more information.

Newly diagnosed
Information for those newly diagnosed with bladder cancer from BCAN.

Bladder Cancer Basics for the Newly Diagnosed
Download or order a copy of BCAN's patient handbook "Bladder Cancer Basics for the Newly Diagnosed" free of charge.

Clinical trials
Get information about clinical trials and BCAN's Clinical Trials Matching Service which is offered at no charge.

Women and bladder cancer
Information about women and bladder cancer from BCAN.

BCAN's glossary (PDF)

BCAN's November Patient Forum in San Francisco
"Understanding Bladder Cancer: A BCAN Patient Forum"
San Francisco, CA
Saturday, November 7, 2009
9:30 am - 2:30 pm
The forum and lunch are free, but pre-registration is required at www.bcan.org or 888-901-BCAN

Presentations from BCAN's May 2009 Patient Forum
Presentations and slides from BCAN's most recent Patient Forum in Cleveland. Those diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer will be most interested in Dr. Jones' and Dr Pohar's presentations. People diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer will be most interested in Dr. Gong and Dr. Gilligan's presentations. Dr. Campbell talks about improving outcomes in bladder cancer patients, and Dr. Hansel talks about the importance of pathology in diagnosing, staging, and deciding on treatment for each patient.

Group leaders

You