High blood pressure from Hematocrit and Hemoglobin

[Melody68]

A few notes on proper measurement of blood pressure.

Home monitors with a cuff seem to give the most correct values. Wrist monitors have the reputation of very imprecise.

BP is often elevated at the doctor's office from the activation of the nervous system - the "white coat effect". Mine is 100/60 at home and 120/80 or higher at the doctor's, with the same home monitor. So, measure sitting at rest at home (left arm relaxed down, cuff at the level of nipples, no leg crossing), and disregard the doctor's values.

BP should be measured in the morning after you get up and before drinking or eating anything. It gets lower after eating and in the evening.

Sammy, thanks for the pointers. I've ordered one of the home monitors from Amazon (a "Lookee" with an arm cuff) and I'm eager to try it in a relaxed atmosphere. I'm sure I've got some of that "white coat effect" - I'll make sure to report my results.

 

[Belekas]

Belekas, thanks for the detailed response. Yes, it would seem that there is more, perhaps much more, to rising BP than just the belief that elevated HC and HGB results in thicker, harder to push blood. What could it be? I, in fact, had traditionally low blood pressure; I recall 95/55 when I was a teen, and feeling faint when standing quickly. I went to the doctors and most of them treated me as if I had some kind of rare disease, and it became a source of anxiety for me. To this day, I get a little tense when they hook me up to the BP monitor - maybe that contributes to the problem? I've ordered a BP monitor from Amazon due for delivery on Thursday; it'll be interesting to take my own BP in the comfort and relaxation of my own home.

I've improved a lot of BP factors recently; I used to be addicted to popcorn with lots of salt, coffee, etc. I wonder how quickly those changes will show up in a measurement. I really wouldn't want to stop TRT or even cut back too much, the benefit to body composition has been significant. Nope, there's a way to go here before I consider any of that, most important - I'm aware of and addressing the problem . . .

You are welcome Melody68. For sure if you are feeling any anxiety when whenever you are taking a measurement it might reflect on the BP and most likely it will. I'm always trying to select words carefully as we all so different and unique. To be able to lower BP and keep it in healty range we need to reverse engineer your diet, salt intake, water intake, micros, macros, bad habits, sleep, drugs, other illnesses, etc. General rule- as leaner you will get the better your BP should be given you have diet and everything else under control. Salt is not an enemy but a friend and a really important one fwiw. I have a lot to say in this regards but don't want to derail the thread as its not about elevated HC and HGB.

I hear you about the TRT and benefits. Awesome that you got body recomp and are loving it. Way to go! Gotta work hard in all these areas then it shines For me personally when I was test-driving TRT an odd 12 months ago it didn't matter the dosage 50-125mg/week I was on, my BP spiked anyway and consistenty and I was feeling like crap so knew something was def off and solution had to be made even though my HC and HGB were brilliant on paper and never spiked. Still have cupboards filled with supps and meds like Telmisartan, Nebivolol, etc as I also wanted to stay on for many benefits too and was even thinking the pharmaceautical way, but couldn't tolerate none that of crap, rethought the plan and decided to hang the gloves for now to figure this shit out without TRT, pharmaceuticals and feeling like a crackhead lol And I worked hard for it and I did found what is crucial for me and till this day it works great and my BP is beautiful at sub 110/70ish being 12 months off TRT. So def I understand that you want to stay on and enjoy those benefits as I wanted to as well and its pretty hard to exit the "darkside" after that

 

[George9]

My hematocrit and hemoglobin were higher in the beginning but dropped down later without changing anything but was still higher than before TRT. My blood pressure went from normal to about 140/90. Donating blood did not seem to lower my blood pressure. One person theorized that since blood is a non-Newtonian fluid that the viscosity of the blood does not increase linearly as the concentration of RBCs increases. The red blood cells stay out of the high shear area near the blood vessel wall.

I have lowered my blood pressure by optimizing my electrolytes, Vitamin D, and Omega-3 fatty acids. I measure my blood pressure daily and the weekly averages for the last four weeks was 108/63, 116/64, 117/70, and 114/65.

Low magnesium causes high blood pressure (The Magnesium Solution, Jay S. Cohen, 2004). Similarly low potassium and to a lesser extent calcium also increase blood pressure (The Mineral Fix, James Dinicolantonio, 2021). Meeting the RDA for potassium and calcium and exceeding somewhat the RDA for magnesium significantly lowered my blood pressure.

Low Vitamin D can contribute to high blood pressure. I now keep mine above the mid-point of the range.

Omega-3 fatty acids make the walls of the RBCs more flexible and supposedly able to pass through capillaries with less friction (Super Fuel, James Dinicolantonio and Joseph Mercola, 2018). The concentration of Omega-3s in the RBC membranes is typically 4% but needs to be greater than 8%. I have gotten mine up to 8.5%.

I do not take any blood pressure medications except for 5 mg per day of Tadalafil.

 

[HSLD]

In my case, there has not been a clear correlation between high HCT and high BP.

For example, on 60mg TC E3.5D (120/wk), my HCT was about 47, yet I experienced elevated BP and symptoms of high BP too. On 44mg TE EOD and 22mg TE daily (154/wk), my HCT is about 54, but my BP is in the healthy range and I don't experience any symptoms of high BP.

 

[Melody68]

Hello everybody, thanks for your many wise suggestions, I learned a lot about blood pressure. In this case Seagal and Sammy were correct; rather than trust my measurements at the doctor, which consistently showed about 144/80, it was suggested that I buy a portable monitor, which I did. After numerous trials in the relaxed surrounding of my house, I'm averaging about 128/75, and I note that it's still coming down some. There is truth to that "white labcoat" argument - I must simply be more tense at the doctor's office. The valuable lesson here - spend $35 and get a portable BP monitor for accuracy. As an aside, I don't drink much water, and on days that I leave myself too dry, I notice that blood pressure is definitely higher, like 135/80, got to make sure I drink more. Thanks to all!