High blood pressure question

[DumboFan82]

A friend of mine who is going to Disney with me and a school group I am taking has high blood pressure. She has concerns about what she can ride. The doctor hasn't told her she can't; but she said the last time she tried to ride fair rides she got ill from them/her blood pressure went up.

I've been to WDW numerous times. I feel like the rides are quite different from fair rides, which move continuously in the same pattern. Disney rides don't do that. I don't have high blood pressure and even I can't handle rides at the fair (they make me sick as a dog!!), but I can ride almost everything at WDW. She really wants to ride everything but of course doesn't want to get sick.

Can anyone who has high blood pressure comment on if you feel any difference between riding fair rides and riding Disney rides? I told her there's no pressure for her to ride anything, it's just that SHE wants to, and I'm trying to help her find out what she'd be able to do and what she couldn't. I know there are rides that warn against if you have high blood pressure; I just want to hear from those who personally have high blood pressure and have rode rides at Disney what your experiences have been.

Thanks!!

 

[mesaboy2]

I have had hypertension for 20 years and ride just about anything thrown at me, including everything at Disney (which has attractions generally milder than other parks). It's a minor risk IMO, but I can think of worse ways to check out. To my knowledge, I have never experienced any ill effects due to riding with HBP.

 

[disney world dreamer]

if she has high blood pressure then i assume she is on medication to control it correct?
if thats the case then her BP should not go up just due to going on a ride.
i bet she was just anxious on the fair ride and more or less had a panic attack which can make you feel ill. either that or she gets motion sickness. i doubt it was her blood pressure making her ill.

i have high blood pressure and take medication to control it and i have never felt ill on a disney world ride. then again i like rides and don't get anxious on them. and i don't have motion sickness either.

my doctor knows that i go on all kinds of rides from mild to wild and he has never told me not to go on due to my blood pressure.

 

[DumboFan82]

Yes she takes blood pressure medication. Anyone else have comments?

 

[kandb]

There are a few that I would recommend she not do, like ones that are more extreme. Expedition Everest, definitely not do Mission Space, tower of terror, Star Wars, RNR roller coaster,
space mountain. That's all of can think of. Maybe dinosaur also. Those are the more extreme rides. There are plenty of mellower rides for her to enjoy herself.

 

[Traveliz]

I have been on high blood pressure medicine for about seven years now and I ride everything at Disney with no problems at all. That said I don't ride carnival rides because that's just not me. But I will say I feel totally comfortable riding the Disney attractions.

Liz

 

[DisneyMim]

I have been on high blood pressure medications for about 10 years now. Granted I am not a roller coaster type person, but I ride things like Dinosaur and Soarin without any problems. I would have her talk to her doctor, but I don't think she will have any problems.

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[Puffy2]

from a nurse perspective, I would avoid Mission Space, Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller-coaster....maybe Everest (not sure, I haven't been on that one). I think dinosaur is ok as is Star Wars. Space Mountain is iffy, but the other mountains are probably ok.

She should just make sure her blood pressure is controlled (are her readings low on the medication she is taking?)

Just my two cents and not professional advice. She should ask her doctor if she has concerns.

 

[danjoan14]

I have been on high blood medication for many years. I still ride the rides without any problems. I just avoid riding any roller coasters back to back. Sometimes get a little dizzy, so I avoid doing that. Once we rode Big Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row, and didn't have a problem at all. I guess it would depend on the person's condition.

 

[ZoZo]

There are a few that I would recommend she not do, like ones that are more extreme. Expedition Everest, definitely not do Mission Space, tower of terror, Star Wars, RNR roller coaster,
space mountain. That's all of can think of. Maybe dinosaur also. Those are the more extreme rides. There are plenty of mellower rides for her to enjoy herself.

I don't know - I have HBP (under control with medication) and have ridden all of these rides with no issues at all. I think if your fiend has HBP that is NOT well controlled with meds, she should ask her doctor what to do. Or if she's really worried, she should ask her doctor either way. A doctor would have much better advice than we can give you here.

 

[rcraw45425]

Have been on BP meds for 18 years (ever since my BP shot up post partem with my second child). Numerous trips and the ones that bother me (pounding migraine after riding) are Big Thunder Mountain, Rock n Rollercoaster, Mission Space orange (Green is okay, no spinning), and sometimes Expedition Everest. Tower of Terror is okay but I never do it back to back. Funny thing is BTW bothers me the most of any of them.

 

[goofyernmost]

Yup, another one here. Have been on BP medicine for going on thirty years. Here's the distinguishing way of making a determination. If one is on medication that is controlling their BP then while they are taking the medication their blood pressure is as normal as anyone else that might have unmedicated regular, good BP. It's like a start from zero thing. BP itself has very few immediate affects, or at least those that are actually noticeable. Peoples BP, normal or not, fluctuate with almost every thing we do.

If one has BP that is unable to be regulated and is high all the time, then it would be a good idea to not subject themselves to anything that might make adrenaline kick it. That could be highly dangerous. Most of the time if someone feels ill after riding a "thrill" ride, it probably has more to do with inner ear problems like motion sickness and not be related to BP at all. However, if she has convinced herself that riding a ride will raise her BP, she is probably right. It will! The question is, if controlled, how much of a problem it would be? Personally I ride everything and do not give it a second thought. If that is all it is going to take to kill me, I might as well do it now doing something that is fun then wait for something awful to happen with the same results.

 

[Minniekins]

I have hbp, and control it with medication, probably about 20 years now. I've never had any problems riding rides or feeling sick after a ride. I do not do some of the big though, like everest, or ToT, rrc, mission space, cause I'm a big chicken, lol! And, my doctor knows I go to Disney and has never said anything about not riding anything, just to have a great time! I would think that with uncontrolled bp, that's where there could be possible issues. Once hbp is controlled with meds, seems you'd be on that same field as someone with no hbp. Hope you all have a great trip and enjoy some fun rides!

 

[JZCubed]

High blood pressure is a physical ailment, but there can be some triggers for some people to briefly experience elevated levels - extreme rides or the anxiety of doing something extreme can certainly be triggers.

There is nothing inherently dangerous about any ride at Disney for someone with high blood pressure, but the notion of going on rides can cause the blood pressure of some people to become elevated.

If your friend has concerns, that should be reason enough to give pause to riding anything that s/he may consider extreme.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I have been on blood pressure medicine for a good many years, and can do most anything in the Disney parks. One time, I had a BP medicine increase just 2 days before going. I wanted to check out how the medicine increase was doing, so once a day, EVERY day, I went to the nurse's station in whatever park I was in that day. I think the nurses found it to be unusual that I was there, but once I explained that my meds were recently increased, they were happy to check my blood pressure and write it down on the little card that I had. It was absolutely no problem to do this each day. My vacation was solo, so it was super important that I checked, because I had no one with me to help if I got sick.

 

[BugsDaddy]

My first and only piece of advice is not to look for medical advice on the Internet. No one knows the specifics of this person's health situation except her doctor. That is the person she needs to consult and heed the advice of.

 

[disnut8]

My husband has high blood pressure and takes meds for it. He rides everything comfortably at Disney World.

But your friend should contact her doctor and discuss with him/her. The doctor can explain what her condition is a lot better than we can. When my husband was diagnosed with this, I was concerned about him riding the attractions so he talked to his doctor and was told the meds were working and there wasn't anything he should do differently in his normal life and the normal life including riding the attractions. Those were the doctor's words, not mine.

 

[bookgirl]

I have HBP. The only ride I've had make me queasy is Mission Space Orange. I doubt it was the HBP. I don't even like the teacups, I just don't really like spinning. However I've ridden all manner of thrill rides and never had any problem as far as getting sick. Up, down, dropping, vertical, inverted, corkscrews, none of those bother me at all.