Hypertension? bells palsey? what the heck? -

i have a sister who is 40 and has a high bp which was 180/120 this morning. they have done tests and have not been able to find out why. she is having facial cramping and numbness in her chin that is recent onset. they are now saying it may be bells palsey. i havent been able to find info that says bells palsey causes facial cramping or a high bp. she doesn t have facial paralysis that would be associated with bells palsey. any suggestions on something else that she may need to look into?

I have seen some patients that say at first the Bell Palsy is a little uncomfortable and then it just goes numb. With the history of the hypertension, I would be very interested to know if the carotid artery has any obstructions - that is the route I would take. That is where most of the oxygen to the brain is supplied, so it would make sense that she might have some cramping from that. Tell your sister to ask the doctor about the carotids. Also, pain will cause the BP to go up. 180/120 is becoming a very dangerous BP. She needs to call her doc and report that one.