My Popo not well.

Just talked about hypertension or high blood... and Kev's grandma, Popo was hospitalised for that reason last Thursday. My sis-in-law told me that her systolic blood pressure (sBP) was 200 plus, which I thought it was a little bit too ridulous. But then, Popo is very old, abt 80 yrs old.. so it could be right. The older the person gets, the higher the bp gets.

For a healthy adult, it range fr sBP of 90-120 over diastolic blood pressure (dBP) of 60-80. Hypertension is present when we hit 140/90.

For Popo, an elderly, non-smoker and non-diabetic, 140/90 can be considered healthy. If she is diabetic, then it's best to keep around 120/80.

The thing abt high blood pressure is that the reading differs and varies at any time of the day. It varies with one's physical and emotional activities. So it all depends and at times, there's no symptoms, that why it is called : the silent killer.

Popo has been sick the week before she was hospitalised. We did visit her on Mother's Day. But Popo looked ok.. she didn't show any sign that she was sick. She was busy in the kitchen. She looked ok. That's another thing.. u can't tell when u gonna be hit with hypertension. It can come and go, and if it is not diagnosed early and get early treatment, it can lead to other complications,mainly stroke and heart attack.

She was transfered to the ICU on Friday morning for close monitoring. Visited her yesterday. Saw her sBP was 135, can't remember what the dBP was. Got to speak to the DR and said that her BP is good. Popo need to go for MRI to check on her bile duct and her aorta. It was found that her bile duct has dilated and her aorta has slight bleeding. Mum signed the consent form. Recalled that we didn't inform Popo about the MRI but since it was non-invasive so, I guess Popo wouldn't mind.

I think Popo hates all the IV lines on her wrists..and the hospital actually cuffed her wrist to the bedside cord, to limit her movements. She can't keep her hands still whenever she talks, so i guess they have to do that for her safety too.

She will be at normal ward today since her BP has improved. Hopes she gets better.

To read more on hypertension, visit Health Promotion Board

Another interesting website : Seniors Network