Blood Pressure Too High for Cataract Surgery

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Blood Pressure Too High for Cataract Surgery

Postby chris87 » Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:10 am

I'm actually writing this post for my dad. I was hoping that someone could give me some advice. He has a severe cataract in his left eye (to the point where he is blind). He is supposed to have it removed next week, but it looks like he won't be able to have it done. As part of the pre-op testing, he needs clearance from a primary care doctor. He went for the first time in probably 20 years last week. He has hypertension (and probably CAD) and ate a western diet for most of his life (he's 66). Fortunately, he doesn't have any other conditions . I've successfully converted him to a WFPB for the last 2 months, and he has lost quite a bit a weight. He's down to about 178 lbs (5'7"), so he still has more to lose. Unfortunately, at the appointment, his pressure was 200/100, and the doctor freaked out (he wanted to send him to the ER). My dad had no symptoms and felt fine (other than he was nervous about the appointment). He put him on 3 medications - Metoprolol 50mg ER, Lisinopril 10mg, and Clonidine 0.1mg. It seemed like they did immediately bring his pressure down. He stopped taking the Clonidine, because it made him very tired and his pressure readings were under 120/80. I've seen Dr. McDougall's videos about the J-curve and how it can be dangerous to aggressively lower pressure. The doctor said that he won't sign the sheet for at least another month because of the high blood pressure. When I've researched online, it seems like they will generally remove cataracts as long as the BP is less than 180/110 (some even say 200). I'm pretty confident that he is under that mark at this point. If he takes the Clonidine, he'll be less than 120/80. I'm so upset, because for work reasons, he really needs to have this done.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I know it's kind of off-topic, but I don't what to do. My goal is for him to get off all of the BP medications. He is adhering strictly to the diet, and I make sure that he follows it carefully. I'm tempted to send him to a different primary care doctor to see if they'll sign off on it, but I don't know if that's possible. I also don't know if the primary care doctor that he saw is being too cautious, or if this is just standard operating procedure. He seems to think that the pressure must be stable for at least one month before you can have a cataract removed. I thought maybe he could talk to the Ophthalmologist, but I don't know if that would matter at all. I appreciate any input! If anyone has been in a similar position, I would be interested to hear how it worked out.
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Re: Blood Pressure Too High for Cataract Surgery

Postby PJK » Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:06 am

Could he have "white-coat syndrome"? This is pretty common. People stress out at the doctor's office, and their blood pressure rises.

One way to find out: Buy a home blood-pressure device, and take his BP 2x/day for 2 weeks. Write it all down. If his BP is in the normal range, you'll know he probably just got stressed at the office. But if the BP is still too high, then you'll know the issue is real.

I speak from personal experience. I hate going to the doctor's, so always have elevated BP there. I bought a wrist BP monitor that holds previous readings in memory. So I just bring it to the doctor, and they can see my last week's readings. Sure enough, at home, my BP is fine.
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Re: Blood Pressure Too High for Cataract Surgery

Postby chris87 » Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:14 am

PJK wrote:Could he have "white-coat syndrome"? This is pretty common. People stress out at the doctor's office, and their blood pressure rises.

One way to find out: Buy a home blood-pressure device, and take his BP 2x/day for 2 weeks. Write it all down. If his BP is in the normal range, you'll know he probably just got stressed at the office. But if the BP is still too high, then you'll know the issue is real.

I speak from personal experience. I hate going to the doctor's, so always have elevated BP there. I bought a wrist BP monitor that holds previous readings in memory. So I just bring it to the doctor, and they can see my last week's readings. Sure enough, at home, my BP is fine.


He definitely does. I have an Omron upper arm monitor, and his readings are lower at home. It's hard to tell his baseline now, as he's on all these medications. I'm hoping once everything is done, he can get off all of them.
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Re: Blood Pressure Too High for Cataract Surgery

Postby Plumerias » Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:54 pm

I am 66 and recovering from my cataract surgery. The place where I went did not require any pre-op testing. They did take my blood pressure, which is normal at home, in the office. As I was TERRIFIED of this necessary surgery, it was sky high. Shoot, it was still high after they gave me that medicine to mellow me out. It was still high when they discharged me. The second eye wasn't as bad, as I knew what to expect, but it my BP still wasn't normal. So I get it that his was high, although I cannot offer any suggestions.

Um, one other thing, it may be a while before he's ready to return to work. I'm still not supposed to lift anything, for example, and the first eye was three weeks ago, with the other a week later. I still have to have drops in my eyes four times a day, which my husband does, as well as use liquid tears often. I still tire easily. So, for what that's worth.

And good luck to him.
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Re: Blood Pressure Too High for Cataract Surgery

Postby viv » Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:15 pm

Wow what a carryon, just relax people! It's just cataract surgery not a heart transplant! He'll be fine, just give it a little more time to get the BP down. (Def sounds like white coat syndrome). I've had both eyes done a year apart under local anesthetic and it was no problem. I'm glad because it changed my life, I can continue teaching at 70 and can see like a young person. It's great.

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Current weight: 157
60lbs gone--for good!
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