DEAR DR. ROACH: I have sciatic pain. I do my best to mitigate the pain with exercise. The only painkiller I can tolerate is aspirin. I have been approved for physical therapy, but that doesn't start for another six weeks. When I stand up, the pain is intense, and I just force myself to walk, because then it goes away. My blood pressure is now elevated and has been elevated for several days. I feel unwell. This morning it was 141/90. Can pain raise blood pressure like this? -- J.B.
ANSWER: In a healthy person with onset of acute pain, blood pressure very frequently increases. This is not usually a concern, as a healthy person's vascular system is robust, and it is unlikely to cause harm in the relatively short period of time it takes pain to resolve (although it may feel like a very long time).
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
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Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.