sadatx

I took my blood pressure and got 123 over 80 and then a few days later I took it again and got 124 over 78.

This used to be normal, but I guess they've changed the guidelines and now I'm considered to be just on the cusp of prehypertension. Which, even if I'm on the low end, is a place I don't want to be.

Guess it's time to start exercising (the only exercise I get is golf).

What's your blood pressure? Would you change your lifestyle if you found you had hypertension or even prehypertension?

Some info I found at www.webmd.com :

----The systolic measurement is the pressure of blood against your artery walls when the heart has just finished pumping (contracting). It is the first or top number of a blood pressure reading.

----The diastolic measurement is the pressure of blood against your artery walls between heartbeats, when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood. It is the second or bottom number in a blood pressure reading.


LEVEL SYSTOLIC DIASTOLIC

High blood pressure is: 140 or above 90 or above

Prehypertension is: 120 to 139 80 to 89

Normal adult
(age 18 or older)
blood pressure is: 119 or below 79 or below


Millions of people whose blood pressure was previously considered borderline high (130–139/85–89 mm Hg) or normal (120/80) now fall into the "prehypertension" range, based on new, more aggressive high blood pressure guidelines from the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC 7) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.1

Because new studies show the risk of heart disease and stroke begins to increase earlier than previously believed, health experts lowered the acceptable normal range to promote more aggressive and earlier treatment of high blood pressure.1



HERE'S THE DIRECT LINK TO THE ARTICLE:

http://my.webmd.com/content/healthwi...tselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}

Mael

i actually just got mine done today, was thinking about posting something about it. i've been in the 130's/80 category for a couple years now. while i've lost a good amount of weight, i'm going to be a bit more aggressive about the last bit that i need to lose and with making sure i get some cardio in everyday. guess i'm gonna have to learn to love the sunrise.

Sparhawk

110/70

It goes up whenever I go to the doctor, though.

__________________
"In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. It's - and it's hard work. I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work. We're making progress. It is hard work."

raeanna74

102/65 sometimes lower. Rarely much higher. Even when I was 9 months pregnant and had a lot of water retention it didn't go over 122/72.

Mine chronically drops way low and I get dizzy and weak feeling. Dr says it's a temporary neurological disorder and doesn't offer any solution other than taking Maxalt when it occurs. I've had it drop to 60/30. I could not even stand up let alone walk that time.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

spectre

Mine's below normal. At one point, I had to be treated for Hypotension (too low of a blood pressure).

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

Sho Nuff

Mine has been as high as 148/92. I just drank more water, started meditating and practicing Tai Chi, started working out more and made very minor changes to my diet. At last check (last week) it was 128/80.

__________________
I know Nietzsche doesnt rhyme with peachy, but you sound like a pretentious prick when you correct me.

raeanna74

How low was it? If you don't mind me asking. Mind drives me nuts because it stops me in my tracks sometimes and I've passed out in the past fairly easily when I've been ill or eve slightly dehydrated. How did they treat it? All I get is Maxalt to raise it when it drops so low as to give me another migrane.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

JStrider

mines usually 110ish/70ish and a pulse of 60ish usually...
its not tooo uncommon for me to stand up fast and have to balance against something or sit back down... and a couple times ive momentarily blacked out and fallen over from standing up too fast...

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Cowman

I used one of those "blood pressure" machines recently, and had ... 92/41 I think it was.

I don't know how accurate that is..
it seems extremely low..

__________________
You don't like my point of view..but im insane

Ella

180/100. It went up when I was pregnant with my last child nearly five years ago and has never quite been normal.

Every time I give blood they give me a hard time about it, and about 4 weeks ago I went to the doctor about something else and thought I'd have it checked. It was 170/100. I was a little uptight about my sore back, but this week have been feeling really shitty. Went back yeserday and it was 180/100.

My doctor put me on medication yesterday and told me I would more than likely have to take them for the rest of my life....I'm in my mid 30's.

Now, it's not a health issue - I am of average weight, eat well, walk for 50 minutes each day, and consider myself healthy. My father has high blood pressure and it's genetic.

Bummer, hey?

__________________
"Afterwards, the universe will explode for your pleasure."

maleficent

I usually hold steady at 130/80 -- a few weeks ago -- I broke the monitor at 210/140 (it had been a long, long, LONG week)

__________________

Boo

Mine was 143/95 today after only 4 glorious hours of work. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it..........

__________________
Back button again, I must be getting old.

Ella

At the risk of a heart attack or a stroke? No, no I don't believe it is....

__________________
"Afterwards, the universe will explode for your pleasure."

spectre

The systolic was in the 80s to 90.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

Bobaphat

Mine is usually around 145/80 and I am 27 years old and its been this high for several years now. I can thank my parents for this gift as they both have high blood pressure as did their parents. I am taking steps to lower it though without meds.

__________________
--size matters not-- yoda

jay-g

125/75 I am a smoker, and have hyper-active thyroid. Plus beef jerky is my ultimate favorite. Man, i need to get my act together.

Yakk

It is a health issue.

A good chunk of how Fat kills you is through high blood pressure, as far as I know. You just got the ram.

I'm under normal since I started exercising.

__________________
Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

ChasingAmy

Mine 144/78 and 58 bpm. Just checked it at one of those things @ a Pharmacy. When I give blood my Systolic (upper) is usually a little lower.

My Kinesiolgy friend said 58 bpm wasnt that good... too low he said. I thought the lower the better no?

Later

__________________
Don't you know about the bird?

absorbentishe

When away from work, it's normal, but during work, it tends to be a bit higher.

thebeat

120/80

__________________
random

spectre

No, if it's too low, you'll have hypotension. I had that for a while, and I would get dizzy when I would stand up. I almost passed out a few times because of it.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

dragonhawk

MIne has been running between 150/95 and 130/80.
And my left are runs about +20/+5 over my right arm...

Trying to lose weight now (I am 220 and need to be about 185) and start exercising more. My doctor is threating medication if I don't do something about it. And my "bad" cholestrol (sp?) was about 60 points high...

__________________
----------------------------------------------
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

little_tippler

I usually have quite low blood pressure, about 100/60. I also get dizzy spells, it's really boring lol

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

Rodney

It's always been 10 or 20 points too high, since I had my BP first taken at 16 and I was skinny as a rail. At 48, it's just kissing 140/80, although I'm sure it goes higher under stress. Oh well: on my mom's side, they're all generally tense and excitable (like me) and tend to die of strokes, but not until they're well into their 80s. So I'm hoping I got dealt the same hand -- highish blood pressure, but with a circulatory system strong enough to handle it until near the end.


Don't discount the fact that a lot of people get nervous when their BP is taken, and that this artificially bumps up their readings. I went to a holistic MD once, and he took my BP both before and after I did a meditation exercise, and the top figure was 20 points lower the second time. So, some people who are borderline might just be a little scared of the process. Thus, if your BP looks somewhat high but not incredibly high and the doc is recommending drugs, might be worth making sure that the BP is taken really carefully and that you are relaxed. For sure, don't drink caffeinated beverages beforehand, because they will bump up your BP temporarily.

Also, if you've got a fairly thick arm (muscle, fat, or both), the standard-sized cuff may be too tight; this can produce a false high reading. Ask the nurse about using a larger-sized cuff for the BP test. In my experience, they always have one around. I put on some arm mass from weight training (and general weight gain), and started getting BP readings in the 150s. (My upper arm went from 14 inches to 18 inches around.) But when I learned about larger-sized cuffs and started asking for them, my BP results went back down to where they always were.

Diamond

Kind of glad this post was here, my BP was running 120/70 for years, within the past 2 months it has gone up into the 140-150 over 90-ish range. No real reason that I see, no change in diet, exercise about the same, job stress about the same. I do have the hereditary factors though, both parents and grandparents had the high BP thing. Going in later this week to get it checked out.

Question: Does anyone else feel any differently with higher BP or is it just me? Kind of feels like my neck is "tighter" and more pressure in my eyes. I've also noticed I get more light-headed when I stand up quickly than I used to.

sadatx

High blood pressure will certainly have an effect on the way you feel. Although, I always thought getting lightheaded when you stand up too quickly was a sign of low blood pressure. Maybe ask your doctor when you get it checked out.

Val_1

108/74. Just had it checked last week.

Rodney

Update: I had my BP taken the other day before oral surgery, and it was 126/79. Not bad at all for a middle-aged dude. On the other hand, the last month has been more-or-less stress-free downtime, so that may have something to do with it.

Willravel

Thanks to the wonderful world of Atenolol (a synthetic, beta-1 selective, or cardioselective, adrenoreceptor blocking agent, may be chemically described as benzeneacetamide, 4-[2'-hydroxy-3'-[(-methylethyl)amino] propoxy], of course). My blood pressure was at one time about 135 to 140 over 65 because of a coarctation of the aorta repair. Now, because of the Atenolol I take every morning, I am at about 115 over 65 regularly. Go science! Boo God!

bklynjo63

I have been hypertensive since age 13...This was first time my bp was checked. It was 140/96. Without meds I have never had a normal reading.
I am 47 yo female, 5' 5 120lbs. I take Lopressor, Vasotec, Lexxel and Norvasc
Last reading without meds-216/150 with meds 140/84

Willravel

I'm off Atenolol now, due to improved physical health. I'm at around 118 in my left arm and 110 in my right arm, and my resting heart rate is really low, in the 40s range. The trick is lots of vegetables and 1+ hour of exercise every day.

chinese crested

High or low it can make you feel a tad unsteady.

ASU2003

119/78

Shadowex3

114/64 - 36bpm is my lowest (35bpm technically but that was from another reading). It goes up when I exercise though and according to all tests my blood flow is normal and healthy so no worries so far.

__________________

GreyWolf

As of 10 min ago, 123/72. I'm mildly hypertensive, on medication. Over the last month, this is about as high as it's gotten, with most readings in the low 100's to low 110's over mid to low 60's. Yesterday after mowing the lawn in the heat, it was 102/62.

I have a very accurate home machine which I use regularly because of my condition, and the fact that I have "white-coat syndrome", which doctors actually recognise. When she goes to take my pressure, it rises sharply by anywhere from 10 - 20 points. I can't help it. When a nurse does it, no reaction. Five minutes later, the doctor's reading is much higher. My neighbour (a doctor) surprised me out by his pool one day and had the cuff on me while I was totally relaxed and not expecting it. A reading 20 minutes later, which I knew he was going to take was considerably higher.

I have been warned away from the drugstore autocuffs because I react to them the same way. Apparently many people do, so don't panic if you get a high reading there; just have it checked by your doctor. My own machine is accurate, and compares very nicely the nurses' readings and the Holter monitor that I wore for 24 hours of random readings.

__________________
The secret to great marksmanship is deciding what the target was AFTER you've shot.

noodle

It really depends on the day and when I'm getting it taken. Typically 106/68.
At the dentist, it's 120/75 usually... I hate the dentist.
Last time at the ob/gyn it was 95/62 but that was at 8am and I hadn't really done much yet. BP issues, diabeetus, cardiac issues and arthritis run in my family so I'm careful. So does high cholesterol... mine was 254 at it's highest, 175 before I started the accutane, not sure if it's gone back down yet. But I'm blessed with good BP

__________________

Baraka_Guru

I can't remember the actual numbers, but my most recent blood pressure reading was within "normal" limits.

It's always been normal.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

MSD

When I first voted in this, I was in the Hypertension category. I've since been put on blood pressure medicine that keeps me comfortably within the safe range, and with weight loss I've been able to cut the dosage of that medication in half and am on the line of having it cut in half again. I did it with good old diet and exercise.

Lindy

This morning was 102 over 62, a little higher than usual, maybe because I'd just gotten out of a nice warm shower. I'm 5' 2" and 110 lbs this morning, a couple pounds over my usual (my scale only give even numbers.) I'm on no medication except for a high-fat, low-carb diet.

Lindy

Cynthetiq

damn.... I've been riding high lately 120/90.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.