[jyl]

This morning, at 11 am, a friend was at my house for brunch w/ my wife.

Friend is a 50-ish y/o woman in good health. She started feeling dizzy, tunnel vision, had trouble hearing, had trouble speaking or forming words. After a while it passed.

Wife took friend home. At home friend checked her BP, it was 160/something at HR 60. That is high for her, she's usually like 120/something. Not on BP meds, no history of high BP (I think the BP cuff is her husband's).

During the day, friend checks occasionally. BP keeps going up.

We pick her up at church at 7 pm, she's finished a performance (she's a musician) and we don't want her to drive home alone. She says her BP is now reading so high, her cuff must be broken. I have brought my cuff. It reads 187/97 pulse 60.

She is otherwise feeling fine, no chest pain, dizziness, trouble speaking, nothing. She has a family doc appointment tomorrow.

We call two doctor friends. The GP says no need to go to ER. The pathologist says go to ER.

We take friend to ER. They measure her BP 190/100. I left her there waiting to see the doctor, my wife is with her, I needed to get home and take care of kids.

So I wonder now. Should she have gone to the ER? Or just seen her regular doctor tomorrow?