Q: My sister's blood pressure suddenly shot up to 110/170 mmHg in the office and her whole body turned red, especially her hands and finger nails were bloodshot. Doctors gave her pills to keep the BP in check. She is feeling extremely fatigued and now her eyes have turned red. The doctor says it's a blood clot. She has no history of BP. What could have caused it and what is the solution now?

A:In most the cause of increased BP is not known. As you have mentioned there is a strong family history of hypertension. I presume that your sister was not having regular BP checks every 6 months before this problem was detected. There are good drugs for BP and once it is controlled, she will not have a recurrence of the eye problem. Any way, the bleeding in the white of the eye is not dangerous. You can do a duplex of the kidneys to rule out kidney problems that can cause high blood pressure and a 24 hours urinary metanephrine test to rule out some other causes.