L.K.
I am a midwife and former Respiratory Therapist. Your top number, also called the systolic pressure is normal and not that much higher than your normal baseline. The bottom number, the distolic pressure is higher than it should be, however when you see just the bottom number higher than it should be and not the top number this is indicative of you being nervous. That is why the nurse asked if you were nervous. No need to worry about the bottom number being higher than normal. Also, just having high blood pressure in pregnancy is not a diagnosis of preeclampsia. High blood pressure in pregnancy is called Pregnancy Induced hypertension and you can have this without developing preeclampia. You must have two of the following symptoms to be diagnosed with preeclampia: high blood pressure, high amount of protein in the urine, elevated liver enzymes, pitting edema in the extremities.
The best thing you can do to help prevent preeclampsia is to get on the Brewer diet. This involves eating 60-80 grams of protein a day. Preeclampsia occurs when the blood volume does not expand in the second trimester of pregnancy. This causes extra stress on the liver and kidneys. By getting adequate amounts of protein you help the blood volume to double. The diet was created by Dr. Tom Brewer, a physician who did tons of research on preeclampsia, the causes of it and how to avoid it.
Lisa