Blood Pressure Readings - Does Pooling Affect It?

[millyaulait]

Hi, all. I bought a blood pressure monitor today for obvious reasons, but mostly I'm just testing out of curiosity.

I was wondering if blood pooling affects BP readings though. Like, if my blood is going to my stomach for some reason at the moment of testing, will that distort the reading?

I've tested quite a few times now but keep getting different numbers. Does anyone else test their BP?

[millyaulait]

Also, whenever my doctor tests my BP we cant EVER get a reading when I'm standing up. I tried at home too and can't get a reading at all. So this is what I'm wondering about pooling too.

[Sunshinegirl]

Every time I take my BP it is slightly different. This is a dynamic system...so change some change is normal. When I change positions it is very different. My experience with pooling is 2 fold. When you have pooling, you might be experiencing low blood volume. This can mess with your bp. When I have swelling in my gut that may or may not be blood pooling....I think my gut goes on strike and refuses to process even water!....then I feel distress. This extra internal pressure on main arteries and pain do keep my bp up for a little bit but not drastically.

Some automatic bp monitors are not very happy to register low numbers. I always have my taken manually at the drs office. My machine at home will give me a error message 1/2 the time when I stand and my bp is very low. If I get an error 2x in a row, I just have to know that it is low. These machines are calibrated to read norms better. Also, make sure you get the cuff on in the correct position and snug enough. Most will have a little red line that is to line up with the inside of your arm. I put mine on while laying down, then stand up. It is easier that way.

[millyaulait]

Thanks, that makes sense I finally got a reading while standing & it caught an arrhythmia too! My BP rises pretty much exactly to the numbers that a POTS patient is diagnosed by, so I guess that's not surprising but it's nice to finally know for sure.

[Sunshinegirl]

Ok...good. Remember to stay still when doing your readings and keep your arm limp or you may get a faulty arrhythmia reading. This is especially true if your HR goes up super high. My suspicion about this is because the high heart rate is hard for these machines to read when the first start the reading process. When my HR is above 150 I usually get an arrhythmia reading when if fact, I don't have one. Watch the little heart pulse on the screen and you will see it blip rapidly at first. That is in my opinion, a fault of the machine because most people do not fall in this range. The machines are made for most people, not with us in mind. If it does this part way through the reading, it is most likely a real catch of an irregular heart beat. So put the machine at a level where you can see it and notice if there is a difference in the blips after the signal has caught on to your HR.

Does that make sense?

[nomdeguerre0850]

Great explanation Sunshine.

I also have to take bp manually. I wish there was an automatic bp monitor that could actually pick up readings as low as 30 or 40 without giving an error message. When my bp is that low, I feel so crappy that it's hard to take a manual bp before passing out.

[Katybug]

Hi!

I often error out automated bp machines (especially the ones in the docs offices) when standing up. My pots neuro won't even use an automated machine and always takes his vitals manually. I find my little wrist cuff bp monitor has less errors than the arm cuffs.

Also, just to clarify, POTS is not diagnosed by bp readings. The criteria for a POTS diagnosis centers around heart rate only. There are other forms of dysautonomia that do use changes in bp for diagnosis. I know this all gets confusing. A person can also have multiple forms of dysautonomia so both bp and hr are relevant. For example, if you have POTS and Neurocardiogenic Syncope (NCS) , both HR for POTS and BP for NCS would be abnormal.

Take care,

Katie

[Praxxtor]

I experience blood pooling but that doesn't seem to affect my blood pressure.

[Psalm 23]

I also experience blood pooling in my legs and stomach but rather then a drop in my b/p upon standing my b/p and NE levels shoot way up to compensate as was noted on my ttt and catacholamine testing. A PoTS diagnosis is all about a rise in heart rate upon standing but it's interesting how we all differ with our b/p responses. Of course as was already noted some have an accompanying NCS diagnosis. I don't regularly take my blood pressure or heart rate unless I feel particularly off or my doc wants me to keep track of it.

Janet

[millyaulait]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It certainly does get confusing sometimes. To be honest I'm not really sure of my diagnosis. My doctor says NCS (had the tilt table etc) but my heartrate shoots up past 30 points as I stand up, as per the pots diagnosis criteria, and all of my symptoms definitely match up with pots. Maybe I'm one of those with both, I'm not sure at all.

[Praxxtor]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It certainly does get confusing sometimes. To be honest I'm not really sure of my diagnosis. My doctor says NCS (had the tilt table etc) but my heartrate shoots up past 30 points as I stand up, as per the pots diagnosis criteria, and all of my symptoms definitely match up with pots. Maybe I'm one of those with both, I'm not sure at all.

To fulfill the criteria for a POTS diagnosis I was told that the heart rate must sustain 30+bpm from the supine resting heart rate. If it jumps high from lying to standing but within a minute or two drops under the 30 beat criteria and stabilizes then it's negative for POTS. Have you tried doing a Rich woman tilt table test? You sound like you may have a bit of both conditions. Have you fainted while sitting or lying down? Dysautonomia sure is complicated!

[millyaulait]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It certainly does get confusing sometimes. To be honest I'm not really sure of my diagnosis. My doctor says NCS (had the tilt table etc) but my heartrate shoots up past 30 points as I stand up, as per the pots diagnosis criteria, and all of my symptoms definitely match up with pots. Maybe I'm one of those with both, I'm not sure at all.

To fulfill the criteria for a POTS diagnosis I was told that the heart rate must sustain 30+bpm from the supine resting heart rate. If it jumps high from lying to standing but within a minute or two drops under the 30 beat criteria and stabilizes then it's negative for POTS. Have you tried doing a Rich woman tilt table test? You sound like you may have a bit of both conditions. Have you fainted while sitting or lying down? Dysautonomia sure is complicated!

I actually can't stay conscious for that long while standing hahah I faint while sitting too sometimes yeah, and at the very least I get OI symptoms while sitting/lying down etc.

Oh well, I guess as long as I'm trying out treatments it doesn't matter too much anyway.