Blood Pressure

lexiekay · June 2008

I went to the doctors yesterday and had my blood pressure tested. It was 93/51, which seems to have gone down a bit since last time i went. Just wondering, as the doctor didnt really explain things properly, whether this is normal, high or low, and whether it will continue to go down if i carry on doing lots of exercise? I read somewhere that having really low blood pressure can make you faint and feel dizzy, and I dont want this happening when I'm out on a ride!
Thanks

Anonymous · June 2008

As best as I know, your blood pressure should be around 120/80.
the lowest one should always be around 80, any large differences, and you should be seeking medical attention.

I was diagnosed with hypertension two years ago, and by quitting smoking, cutting down on drinking, and getting back on the bike, I've gone down from 210/120 to 115/80.

I'm not sure what you could do to increase your blood pressure though.
Maybe do the opposite... start smoking, drinking really heavily, and don't excercise!

supercarl · July 2008

From what I know (again, former high blood pressure sufferer) the top number is something you can control, and the bottom is largely hereditary. As said above 120 is an ideal top no., i believe the bottom number should be around 70 - 75 but again not sure. Below 100 or above 140 is where you should worry on the top no. - I was regularly at over 140 and had to take medication

woody-som · July 2008

I have a BP monitor and the manual gives the following

normal , systolic 90-119, diastolic 50-79
Prehypertension, sys 120-139, dias 80-89
stage 1 hypertension, sys 140-159, dias 90-99
stage 2 hypertension, sys 160+, dias 100+

Julia Revitt · July 2008

Optimal blood pressure readings should be below 120 for the upper reading and below 80 for the lower reading. So your readings are absolutely fine. Low blood pressure can cause dizziness and fainting but as you are not suffering from these - your blood pressure is fine. There is no recommended limit for low blood pressure as what is low for one person (with dizziness and fainting) is fine for another (no symptoms). Low blood pressure can be caused by certain drugs, diuretics and alcohol.

I shouldn't worry about your blood pressure anymore as yours is fine - it may go down a little but as long as you don't have symptoms of low blood pressure it's nothing to worry about. If it goes above 120/80 then you do need to make some lifestyle changes.

Julia

owen908 · July 2008

Doctors must cringe when they hear about people using those digital home blood pressure monitors. Firstly the digital monitors are not entirely accurate and rely on a steady heartbeat for a consistent reading. An extra heart beat is fine every now and then however palpitations can cause the monitor to produce absolutley bizarre results and can instil fear in the person, which then causes anxiety and increases the heart rate, blood pressure etc.

Also remember that the body's blood pressure responds to minute changes in the body.So one minute you could take your blood pressure and it could be 100 / 70 and the next it could be 140 / 90. This doesnt mean you have high / low blood pressure but that your body has simply reacted to a situation. The golden example would be to wear a blood pressure monitor 24/7 and then seek a health proffessional to review the results.

If you have low blood pressure congratulations! Youre probably going to live longer than someone who has normal 120/ 80 blood pressure. As long as the low blood pressure doesnt include symptoms such as light headedness and dizzyness etc then there should be no cause for concern.

supersonic · July 2008

Very true, you need to know how to use them, and how to document the results. I was sent to a hypertension clinic in 2002 due to severe hypertension, and the doctor asked me to monitor at home, but did so fully understanding the dymanics of BP (have studied medical physics). It can change rapidly 30 seconds after a reading, so even results in the doctors can be off, usually a little high, the so called 'white coat hypertension'. Ideally a doctor woll measure it when you arrive, and have you sit down for 5 mins then do it again.

lexiekay · July 2008

Thanks for your replies - looks like i dont have anything to worry about at the moment, which is very reassuring!

woody-som · July 2008

home monitoring is fine, providing you do the same every time, and document the results.

I took my results for the last week in, due to breathing trouble, and the results averaged 136/67. He didn't seem, to think it was a problem, as it was nearly like his reading in the surgery, but was pleased that the results were fairly consistent throughout the week.

duckson · August 2008

Mine was mid 160's / 110 a few weeks ago at the Doc's, i have had to have 2 other separate BP readings (one last week, another on Wednesday), ECG (turned out fine) and blood tests! My 2nd BP reading was upper 140's over 103ish so down on the 1st reading.
The Doctor and the Nurse doing my 2nd/3rd BP readings said it should be 140/90 max.
Blood test results expected on Thursday.
I'm 32yrs old and not overweight, 5ft9 around 12.5 stone.

MrVanilla · August 2008

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

As best as I know, your blood pressure should be around 120/80.
the lowest one should always be around 80, any large differences, and you should be seeking medical attention.

I was diagnosed with hypertension two years ago, and by quitting smoking, cutting down on drinking, and getting back on the bike, I've gone down from 210/120 to 115/80.

I

I was too, about a year ago and i'm hoping that quitting smoking, cutting down on the drinking and getting back into cycling is going to help me out. My current BP is around 170/115 and i'm on Candesartan tablets to try and bring it down.
High BP runs in my family on my mothers side with Diabetes on my fathers side, at the moment (touch wood) I'm a heart attack about to happen.

MrVanilla · August 2008

duckson wrote:

Mine was mid 160's / 110 a few weeks ago at the Doc's, i have had to have 2 other separate BP readings (one last week, another on Wednesday), ECG (turned out fine) and blood tests! My 2nd BP reading was upper 140's over 103ish so down on the 1st reading.
The Doctor and the Nurse doing my 2nd/3rd BP readings said it should be 140/90 max.
Blood test results expected on Thursday.
I'm 32yrs old and not overweight, 5ft9 around 12.5 stone.

Snap,in age and in BP readings (I am however overweight). Don't be worried as it's controllable. If you've got any q's drop me a PM or ask away on here.

duckson · August 2008

MrVanilla wrote:

Snap,in age and in BP readings (I am however overweight). Don't be worried as it's controllable. If you've got any q's drop me a PM or ask away on here.

Well my 2nd BP reading today was mid 150's over upper 90's so lower than previously on the lower amount (the important one apparently).

My blood test results were back and all was ok expect my cholesterol was 7 and should be 5.2 or lower.... :oops:

supersonic · August 2008

That is pretty high, and worth following up for advice. With moderate hypertension, it does incereas your risk from heart attack and stroke. I dropped mine from 6.4 to 5.4, and my BP from a catastrophic 220/120 to 140/90

duckson · August 2008

supersonic wrote:

That is pretty high, and worth following up for advice. With moderate hypertension, it does incereas your risk from heart attack and stroke. I dropped mine from 6.4 to 5.4, and my BP from a catastrophic 220/120 to 140/90

I'm attending the docs for the BP tests (one more next week with the nurse) and then i'm booked into see the doc again on the 11th Sept no doubt to go through the results and what i need to do thereafter...apparently cholesterol is mostly hereditary and you can only alter it by diet to a smallish degree?

supersonic · August 2008

In many cases yes. I thought mine was heriditary too, as has been 6+ for 15 years with changing diet not really affecting it. But lately it has come down by a point which is cool! Still may have to go on ststins, as am high risk with familial heart probs, hypertension etc.

duckson · August 2008

Well in my family history we havent suffered from any heart problems, strokes etc, only when they are 70+ and both my Grans lived to 90+.
It'll just be my slightly wrong diet and lack of exercise since i stopped playing football twice a week a couple of years ago.

supersonic · August 2008

That's good news! And exercise and good diet reduces BP too (BP pills are a pain the ar$e!)

andy83 · September 2008

i have been feeling faint at time lately so started to monitor BP and im a qualified PT and know how to do it properly

just after i was really faint my BP was 105/57 and few minutes later 102/53 this is roughly what my BP is during afternoon (time of feeling faint aswell)

when i check it first thing in morning it ranges from 107/62 to 98/57

my resting pulse is around 57

I am healthy and eat a good diet and dont drink or smoke. I do suffer with FM though and one thing i learnt doing sports science is that low BP is sometimes more dangerous than if its high due to if its high can be reduced but if it gets too low your body aint getting enough blood. is mine too low.

owen908 · September 2008

andy83 wrote:

i have been feeling faint at time lately so started to monitor BP and im a qualified PT and know how to do it properly

just after i was really faint my BP was 105/57 and few minutes later 102/53 this is roughly what my BP is during afternoon (time of feeling faint aswell)

when i check it first thing in morning it ranges from 107/62 to 98/57

my resting pulse is around 57

I am healthy and eat a good diet and dont drink or smoke. I do suffer with FM though and one thing i learnt doing sports science is that low BP is sometimes more dangerous than if its high due to if its high can be reduced but if it gets too low your body aint getting enough blood. is mine too low.

If you were not experiencing any symptoms such as dizzyness or feeling faint / light headed then the low blood pressure is relativley good thing. It means your heart it effective at pumping blood and oxygen around the body and becuase its being so effective its not working so hard which will prolong your life. However if your feeling faint and dizzy you would need to get this looked at .Although remember the dizzyness may not be associated with your low blood pressure.

supersonic · September 2008

High BP can mean less blood flow, as pressure is a function of force over area. So if the arteries are narrowed, the pressure in them may be higher, but the actual flow less!

As Owen says, could be another factor ie low blood sugar, iron etc. And of course the FM.

andy83 · September 2008

Think im just really fit, i dont smoke or drink and eat well

went for a 20mile ride today and half hour after done BP and it was 89/52

also though read up that due to the FM not letting my muscles work properly it factors to BP and can cause it to be low

to be honest just re read my post before and i should have said its when i stand up, usually when sitting for a while and jump up quick , which would explain it

duckson · September 2008

Just an update....

Doc said my bad cholesterol was to high (reading was 7) but my good cholesterol was at a good level and due to my history, dont smoke etc my actual risk of heart attack/stroke was low but she wanted me to get my bad cholesterol down to the recommended limit (5) through better diet (but i dont eat that badly, just gonna chop out the salt, alot more crisps and cheese and eat more fish!).
My BP had been going down over the weekly readings and was not to bad again when seeing the Doc, 140ish / mid 80's against a recommended max of 140/90 and compared to my initial BP reading of 166/108 at the end of July its alot better.

So i've to have another blood test in 3 months to check my Cholesterol level and she wants me back every 6 months for the next 18 months for a BP reading.

Just need to get my ar$e into gear and start biking to work a few days a week, 26 mile round trip so needs a bit of working up to do it!

duckson · January 2009

UPDATE

I know this was someone elses thread but thought i'd update my post above as i had the 3 months blood test results in mid-late Dec 08.

Serum Cholesterol was down from 7 to 3.6. :shock: Doc said this should be 5 or less so a vast improvement.
Other readings that were only a fraction to high are now less than the max they should be at so all is ok bar my "good" cholesterol was lower than previous....she said this was normal due to a tweak of diet and more exercise and recommended i eat more oily fish (mackeral, herring, tuna steaks etc).
BP was just under 140/90 which again is the "limit" but i have been taking it at home with an approved BP device and its been way lower than that mostly....120's / high 60's on some occasions even after multiple readings so not "one offs".
Although not concerned about my weight last time (i wasnt weighed) just from more exercise and better diet i've gone from around 12st 10pound to currently 11st 4pound checking at home (i'm 5ft 9inch tall). I did hit 10st 10pound when i had Flu before xmas!! lol

So it is easily do able and its suprising how much and how quick the cholesterol has been reduced. I was pretty much cycling to work twice a week (26-27 mile round trip) and inbetween or if i didnt cycle due to the weather i'd be doing a bit of running (5km ish once or twice a week). Oh and i pretty much quit drinking as well, since 4th Sept i had a "blow out" at a mates 30th B'day party but then since i've only had 2 glasses of wine on Xmas day....i've found not drinking suprisingly easy even with my wife supping red wine alot right under my nose!!

I do need to get back into it though after Xmas and the Flu i had before it, not cycled to work since 26th Nov (i was off work 4 weeks with the Flu and holiday though) but i've just started running 5km again this week (Monday night and last night) and hope to cycle when its either not frozen (dangerous!!) or not throwing it down (soft and the toilet facility at work is being refurbed so i'd be a in portakabin loo with nowhere to hang my stuff to dry!

).

Anyway enough of my waffle, thought i'd point out how easy it is to get yourself back into shape and healthy. 8)

supersonic · January 2009

Well done!

BayAreaBiker2008 · April 2009

I have been monitoring my blood pressure since 11/15/1985. It was 135/75.
During my long bike rides, I would often stop at Longs, Lucky's, or other drugstore to check my blood pressure. On 6/28/1994, during my first ride to Gilroy, my blood pressure was 124/86. On14/14/1995, during my second ride to San Francisco, it was 152/85. On 6/13/1996, during my ride to Sausalito, it was 155/95. On 5/24/1997, during my ride to Half Moon Bay, it was 174/104. On 2/21/2008, during my ride to Oakland, it was 141/93. On 7/2/2008, during my ride to Hollister, it was 153/91. On one occasion, my blood pressure was an alarming 239/57

supersonic · April 2009

The BP will change when you exercise as quite a lot of dynamic changes are happening - heart beats harder and faster, arteries dilate, veins dilate to rid heat.

Blood Pressure

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