Is 188 over 51 normal blood pressure for a 75 year old male after having surgery?

Answer 1

No, the systolic reading (the "top" reading, or 188) is too high to be considered normal, however post-surgical hypertension is fairly common (approximately 1 in 3 people are thought to get it, to some extent). Post-op hypertension can lead to poor wound healing and increased risk of bleeding, so it is something which is necessary to treat (or at the very least, closely monitor). The most common causes of post-op hypertension are not taking already prescribed anti-hypertensives before the operation, or from urinary retention (having a full bladder but not feeling the urge to urinate, or having an inability to urinate - e.g if the patient has prostate problems). It is thought that a full bladder increases the level of renin which is excreted by the kidneys, which leads to hypertension.

Either way, it is normally treated fairly easily with anti-hypertensive medication, or in the case of urinary retention, catheterisation for a few days.