Meditation for Blood Pressure Readings?

SlimWallet

Hi everyone. This is my very first post. I'm new to meditation and have been following some of Deepak Chopra's advice. Doing very simple meditations and focusing on the breath. I will say "So" on inhale and "hum" on exhale. Or "I" and "Am".

I really want to beat my white coat syndrome. That is when your blood pressure goes up in a clinical setting. It doesn't do it every time, but often it does. What kind of meditation would be suitable for this? And should I picture myself having my BP taken at the doctor's office while meditating?

BTW, there is nothing wrong with my BP. It's perfectly fine at home and even when I check it at pharmacy areas of stores like Walgreen's and Rite-Aid. But my doctor is still concerned over it. It was 135/83 last visit and he started to talk about beta-blockers. That in itself raises my anxiety when he starts talking about that. Normally my BP is 107/65 at home. At pharmacies around 118/70.

So any kind of meditation practice that is suitable for anxiety-producing situations would be ideal. I would greatly appreciate any advice given.

vinlyn

I can sometimes relax my blood pressure or my mild tachycardia but focusing on the phrase, "To the Buddha I go for refuge, to the Dhamma I go for refuge, to the Sangha I go for refuuge."

But I don't think I'd worry about white coat hypertension. I actually went to the doctor today because my blood pressure and mild tachycardia has suddenly improved (which is weird), and I wanted to discuss how to handle varying my meds levels. But whenever I go to the doctor regarding such issues, I take some of my BP and pulse readings with me so that he can see data from the non-doctor's office setting. Do you have a BP machine at home?

SlimWallet

vinlyn said:

Do you have a BP machine at home?

Yes, I do. That's how I get the readings at home. But I still want to find a way to overcome white coat syndrome. I realize this is very common among people. I even talked to a Pharmacist recently after taking my reading in the store who says he has same problem. But there's got to be a way to beat this. Maybe it has more to do with mindfulness training than meditation? I dunno.

Jeffrey

Even at the docs your readings are borderline and they should let you make changes in diet or exercise first. That's all irrelevant considering that it is white coat and not an accurate measurement. But even if it is accurate it is borderline.

Jon Kabatt Zinn focuses on the body in his mindfulness approach and you might try his training course which consists of mindfulness, body-scans, education, yoga, and sitting meditation. It's a whole eight weeks course you can do on your own but you need to commit to an hour every day to do the exercises. If you learn to relax on your own you may be able to conjure that up at the doctors office.

If you have a partner I wonder if they can dress up as a doctor and take your blood pressure is another idea. Get accustomed to the stressor and thereby face and get comfortable with white coats.

vinlyn

SlimWallet said:

vinlyn said:

Do you have a BP machine at home?

Yes, I do. That's how I get the readings at home. But I still want to find a way to overcome white coat syndrome. I realize this is very common among people. I even talked to a Pharmacist recently after taking my reading in the store who says he has same problem. But there's got to be a way to beat this. Maybe it has more to do with mindfulness training than meditation? I dunno.

Okay. The funny thing about my white coat BP is that if I am going into the doctor because my blood pressure is acting up, when I get there it calms down. But if I am going for almost any other reason, my BP goes up.

Dakini

Next time you go to the doctor, ask the nurse to give you a few minutes to decompress, before taking your blood pressure. That can make a big difference. I do that, and I also go into a meditative, relaxed state, almost putting myself to sleep. Just put it out of your mind, and go to a calm place in your mind. Be aware of the breath.

karasti

I just want to add you might also want to make sure you are not drinking anything particular before you go. For several visits I was showing higher than normal BP when I am usually on the low end and found out it was because while I was waiting I had a habit of grabbing an energy drink outside the waiting room, and they are well known for raising BP. Just worth noting sometimes it can be something else as well. It will also rise during physical activity, so if you are at a large clinic or hospital and have to park, then walk a ways to get to the office, that can cause a spike as well. I agree with asking for a few minutes to calm yourself before they test it.

footiam

SlimWallet said:

Hi everyone.
I really want to beat my white coat syndrome. That is when your blood pressure goes up in a clinical setting. It doesn't do it every time, but often it does. What kind of meditation would be suitable for this? And should I picture myself having my BP taken at the doctor's office while meditating?

BTW, there is nothing wrong with my BP. It's perfectly fine at home and even when I check it at pharmacy areas of stores like Walgreen's and Rite-Aid. But my doctor is still concerned over it. It was 135/83 last visit and he started to talk about beta-blockers. That in itself raises my anxiety when he starts talking about that. Normally my BP is 107/65 at home. At pharmacies around 118/70.

So any kind of meditation practice that is suitable for anxiety-producing situations would be ideal. I would greatly appreciate any advice given.

I have often heard that meditation can be beneficial for health. But the main aim for Buddhist meditation should be to make one mindful.

SlimWallet

vinlyn said:

Okay. The funny thing about my white coat BP is that if I am going into the doctor because my blood pressure is acting up, when I get there it calms down. But if I am going for almost any other reason, my BP goes up.

This is another phenomenon I've read about. Isn't it ironic... people who really do have high BP (not implying that you do) often will go to the doctor's office and it will be lower. My dad has high BP issues and this happens to him.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I don't think I found anything specifically here for a particular meditation that might be of help. Although, the John Kabat-Zinn reference may very well come in handy. I tried an audio last night of mindful meditation. I'm not sure I quite get it yet. During the entire audio the speaker asked to focus on the foot. Starting out with the toe. Then the other toes... and then the knee and so on. This helps? Helps more than focusing on the breath? The first audio was a "body scan." That's all I did so far.

vinlyn

Oh, trust me, I do have high BP, now pretty well under control, but it really flared for several months when I moved to the Colorado Springs at 6500 feet.

Jeffrey

Mindfulness isn't always of the breath. Did you do the raisin?

karasti

Body scans can be terrific, I do them fairly often. I think no one can give you a particular method because different methods work for different people. You might just look on youtube for guided meditations or look at Deepak Chopra's website for ideas and try out what feels good to you.

"I have often heard that meditation can be beneficial for health. But the main aim for Buddhist meditation should be to make one mindful."

I think they go hand-in-hand. Lots and lots of people practice meditation for medical and other nonreligious purposes. Nothing wrong with that. Buddhists don't have some kind of claim to meditation or anything.

elenagreene

I have high BP (runs in my family) which is pretty well controlled with medication, but I also tend to get high readings at the doctor's office. I try to do some slow, mindful breathing while it's being measured, which sometimes seems to help. I also take my BP at home occasionally and my doctor takes those measurements into consideration. Sometimes he also measures it a second time, later in the appointment, and the numbers are usually better. You could try that. But I think the important thing is what's going on most of the time, not at the doctor's office. If you're feeling pressured into meds you don't think you need, maybe consider a second opinion?

Citta

In order to find out what is really going on a 24 hour monitoring might be needed.
This involves wearing a device that measures BP at regular intervals throughout the day, the device also records the results...some of the more sophisticated ones are linked via satellite to your doctors surgery..whether the space age or old fashioned ones they get round the fairly common "White Coat " syndrome.
You will then have a clearer idea of the normal state of your BP.

vinlyn

I'd question whether or not the severity justifies the expense, Citta.

Citta

Of course, doh...I was automatically assuming a British type scenario where treatment is free at the point of delivery..I should have realised from the reference to Walgreens that the poster was American.
So yes, cost would have to be built in to equation.

Dakini

Citta said:

Of course, doh...I was automatically assuming a British type scenario where treatment is free at the point of delivery..I should have realised from the reference to Walgreens that the poster was American.
So yes, cost would have to be built in to equation.

OK, now we're jealous!

But actually, this raises an interesting point. If the doc feels the BP is bad enough to justify prescribing beta-blockers, maybe he could prescribe a BP-reader, and insurance would pay for it. If the doc really believes the patient needs it, it might work.

Citta

Without wanting to rub it in ..its a constant reminder to we Brits how fortunate we are that since 1945 we are born into a cradle- to -grave service which is free at the point of delivery. I dont want to imagine life without it...

vinlyn

I have talked with people in Canada about it, too, Citta, and I think it is the way to go. Interestingly, I read one article which said that had the Supreme Court went thumbs down on Obamacare (and I support the concept of Obamacare), American would have moved to full socialized medicine within a decade.

RebeccaS

vinlyn said:

I have talked with people in Canada about it, too, Citta, and I think it is the way to go. Interestingly, I read one article which said that had the Supreme Court went thumbs down on Obamacare (and I support the concept of Obamacare), American would have moved to full socialized medicine within a decade.

It's not the same in Canada and the UK. At least in the UK they have a private option, in Canada you have to cross the border for private healthcare.

I used to be against socialized healthcare entirely, but a 2 tier system seems like a good compromise.

vinlyn

I can't speak overall, but the Canadians I have spoken with are very satisfied with their system.

So in the UK, if you want to go to a private doctor you can, but you pay?

Citta

vinlyn said:

I can't speak overall, but the Canadians I have spoken with are very satisfied with their system.

So in the UK, if you want to go to a private doctor you can, but you pay?

Thats right...generally speaking it makes no difference in terms of treatment...but with some conditions going private can mean no waiting times.

RebeccaS

Citta said:

vinlyn said:

I can't speak overall, but the Canadians I have spoken with are very satisfied with their system.

So in the UK, if you want to go to a private doctor you can, but you pay?

Thats right...generally speaking it makes no difference in terms of treatment...but with some conditions going private can mean no waiting times.

Exactly.

The standard of care is also different, things like a private room in a private facility, but treatment options are the same.

Citta

Yes that is true Rebecca..plush carpets and so on..
In fact the medics are often the same people..NHS doctors with a private practice on the side.

Dakini

While I think the concept of universal health care is a valuable one, so much depends on the quality of care. If the doctors never take a patient's concerns seriously, or if the insurance-based doctors lack training to treat chronic conditions, what good is free health care? Much more needs to be fixed in the US than just coverage of healthcare costs. The med system needs to be prevention-oriented, not exclusively crisis-oriented.

Citta

Increasingly the British NHS is prevention orientated. Or at least that debate is well under way.
Of course politicians blundering in every four years or so do little to help.

karasti

They have carpeted hospital rooms? That sounds like a HORRIBLE idea. Many rooms in the US are private rooms, and they most certainly aren't plush rooms (in most cases, they do exist but not with carpet, lol) Just typical rooms with no roommates and more space for guests and for someone to spend the night in a chair or cot.

I have a couple good friends in Canada. In their words, the system isn't perfect but it's better than having no health care, by far. In some cases, there are treatments that are not available there yet, that are here but if you can't pay up front, you are out of luck. And also the wait times. More than one family member of both friends have had something funky shown up on a test only to have to wait so long to see someone about it/get further testing that it spread and required much further intervention. My one friend had a problem with an IUD, and after meeting with her doctor was told it needed to come out. It was causing her pain and bleeding and other issues, and she had to wait almost a month to get it out.

Citta

Not carpeted hospital rooms...carpeted reception areas.
To go back to the topic in hand,,the idea that someone with raised a BP would have to pay to have it monitored is mildly shocking to many Brits.

Dakini

Citta said:

Not carpeted hospital rooms...carpeted reception areas.
To go back to the topic in hand,,the idea that someone with raised a BP would have to pay to have it monitored is mildly shocking to many Brits.

Well, the OP may be mistaken on that, I'm curious to know if insurance would pay if the doc prescribed the monitor. Insurance does pay for blood glucose monitors with a prescription. But those are not monitors, exactly but testing devices. Blood glucose monitors, the kind you wear, are very expensive, and insurance wouldn't pay for those. They're a very high-tech thing. So the same may be true of the BP measuring devices you describe, Citta. Wow, Brit healthcare must get PILES of tax money, if it can afford to give away this type of technology.

RebeccaS

Ewww no not carpeted rooms! But they're much nicer than a standard hospital ward. Obviously, it depends where you go but the ones I've seen are really nice. Actual furniture in the rooms, TVs and DVD players, proper curtains. They're more like a bedroom than a ward, and much more spacious and comfortable and with more dedicated staff (fewer patients means more staff per patient). It's also nice to get treated when you first find out you're sick, not months later, as you mentioned your friend having a problem with which is also an issue in the UK.

That's why so many Canadians buy US insurance and get treatment over the border. The wait times are disgusting and the hospital quality is absolutely awful. Last time I was at a Canadian hospital my husband killed a cockroach.

karasti

Where I've given birth (just normal hospitals) those types of room were pretty standard. Not like hospital wards in movies or anything. They are very homey with rocking chairs, nice paintings, colorful painted walls. Very much like bedrooms, like you said. BUT, that said maternity and childrens floors are vastly different from other floors. They also charge a ton more, lol. When my grandma was in the same hospital I gave birth in, I was amazed at the difference, and found it very sad. She was in the neurosurgery ICU and then in the geriatric ward, and it was so cold and old and depressing. Sad Everyone deserves happiness and homeiness and cheer! It does cost more, but at least in the places I've been a good portion of it has been paid for by donations or provided for by donations.

It's interesting to note the differences.

@Dakini, the type of device you mention for blood glucose monitoring is generally known of as an artificial pancreas, and is available in some areas (Australia has them) but not in the US yet. They have not been human tested by the FDA. I am hoping they will be available in my son's lifetime, they would be a lifesaver. Literally. But will be, no doubt, extremely expensive when they first come out.

Dakini

No, @karasti, they've developed a device you wear on your wrist, like a watch, and it monitors your blood sugar over 24 hours, and calculated the average, and records highs and lows, and all that. But it costs around a couple hundred $$. They came out with this a few years ago.

Citta

You dont get to keep the device under the NHS ( National health Service ) after a set period of monitoring you hand it back to your local health centre.
The British system is funded by involuntary subscription..which is why the Tea Party would never buy into it...
Every working person pays for a monthly National Insurance Stamp which is deducted at source from the wage packet. If you are self employed you are legally required to buy the stamps yourself....
For the first few decades of working life most pay in and apart from child birth and vaccinations see little return..by the time people are in their fifties and sixties the financial balance starts to shift in their favour. All treatments are free at point of delivery and prescriptions are highly subsidised.
After 60 years of age all prescriptions are also free.
Once people retire they reap all of the benefits but are no longer required to contribute financially.
Those who buy private care are still legally obliged to pay National Insurance at the full rate.

Tosh

Mrs Tosh is experiencing high blood pressure issues; she's had it taken twice so far and both times high (I'm not sure of what the readings were). She's got to go back on New Years Eve and give blood for a test and she said something about an ECG to see how her heart is.

Her heart should be fine; she's a good runner and represents East Wales at cross country; she probably runs about 50 miles a week. High blood pressure runs in her family.

We've a home monitor, so we'll take some reading here to rule out white coat syndrome, and I've suggested she start a meditation practise, but I'm not sure she will; she's one of those people who can't sit still. If she were an alkie, she'd be one of those mad crazy ones; really mental. She suffers with OCD (an Obsessive Cleaning Disorder); the house is always immaculate; she can drive me crazy with the hoovering.

So thanks, this post has been useful.

vinlyn

@Tosh, being a runner has nothing to do with some conditions that affect the heart. For example, I have mild tachycardia and palpitations. I said to both my regular physician and cardiologist, "Well, I guess I'm paying for all those donuts." Both of them responded that the electrical problems in my heart were something I was born with.