Expert: Domenic Sica - 8/29/2009

Question
I am 39 year old male. Wgt. 80 kgs, ht. - 5'9", waist - 37". Indian vegetarian. Suffering from high BP. never achieve 80/120. Best 125/85, worst 140/100. Diet controlled with fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, salads & lentils along with wheat and rice products since last 8-10 years.

I go for regular physical exercise 4 - 5 times a week. Walking, jogging or swimming. Still i feel fatigue, irregular sleep patterns, irritation in mood and heavyness in my forehead sometimes when i find BP is high (though cannot confirm). In the morning when i get up from bed i feel pain in lower ankles, souls and shin. I am taking Coversyl AM (perindopril erbumine b.p. 4mg & amoldipine besilate i.p. equivalent to amoldipine 5 mg) plus ecospirin & multivitamin). Six months ago the tests ecg, tmt, kft, routine & culture (blood & urine), lipid profiles etc. were normal. I sometime suspect that my condition might be because of over exertion at the time of exercise. But could not confirm this pattern. Can you suggest what i need to do and whom to approach.

Answer
These would be unlikely to be symptoms related to your medications or your level of blood pressure. One thing you could do is for a week to only swim and determine if the lower extremity symptoms persist. If they persist then a good physical examination and history is in order. It sounds like you have a sleep disorder and may need to be evaluated for this. This can be discussed with your primary care physician.

Regards,

Domenic Sica, M.D.