I have always had low blood pressure until recently. It started when I began having severe lower back and leg pain. The doctors beleive I am showing sighns of siatica and reumatoid arthritis. I do not take a lot of pain medication, only when severe at most maybe one pill a day so that my system doesn't become immune to it. Now my blood pressure will go as high as 144/97. My mother had a massive heart attack at 40 and it resulted from extremly high chlesterol that was determined hereditary. Her's cannot be controlled by diet only medication. I have a good diet and I am not overweight or underweight. I am afraid I may have the same condition as her. I was recently blown off by a doctor when metioning it, should I get a second opinion or is it just the high level of pain maybe? If anyone has any suggestions please tell me. My mother had tests done at the same age I am now and her chlesterol was sky high then, but the doctor never addressed it with her. They said after her first heartattack that if the doctor had it may have been avoided at that age or not as bad as it was.