Blood Pressure

[SatinSilver]

Had mine checked yesterday by some nurses at the mall. The reading was 134/76. About an hour earlier I walked for an hour. I think the bigger influence was having 4 cups of coffee that morning which is more than I normally have. Actually two cups but each cup holds 16 ounces. They wrote down my numbers on a form that had ten tips for lowering it naturally.

One tip was to lower caffeine. It cited a recent Duke study that said consumption of 500 mg(roughly three 8-ounce cups of coffee) increased BP througout the day until bedtime. The other tips were:

Manage weight, Exercise regularly, eat healthy, limit sodium intake, don't smoke, drink less alcohol, relax, eat dark chocolate, consume potassium. Each point was then expounded on, about a paragraph or so.

I was thinking of getting it checked next month after incoporating some of the tips.

 

[paulo57509]

I had a co-worker who drank countless cups of coffee every day. She was an active girl and very trim but her BP would typically push 200/130. Those are stroke numbers.

Her doctor told her to stop drink coffee immediately.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Another tip, don't have kids!

 

[JHZR2]

Wow. 200/130?

I've read that taller people can have naturally higher numbers, just due to inherent pressure drop (natural fluid dynamics) through the vascular system... And also that capillary density also comes into play to determine the true, right number... But 200... Cripes! I don't drink any caffeine, so I've never looked into/realized it can have that much effect!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

If the walking pushed your blood pressure up you might have a blockage somewhere.

I am on a low sodium diet. I didn't really eat unhealthy, but about two years ago my blood pressure was at stroke / heart attack levels. I should have taken blood pressure medicine then and there, but I immediately cut sodium laden foods out of my diet wherever possible and started drinking ONLY water, unsweetened tea and coffee. Within two weeks my blood pressure was down to the high side of safe.

The top number was close to 200 and the bottom was over 100.

Different things do it for different people. I can drink a gallon ofncoffee and it wont affect my blood pressure much (the heart palpitations are a different story), but if I have large fries from a fast food joint ... my blood pressure shoots up, I retain fluids and have minor breathing difficulty.

 

[shDK]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Had mine checked yesterday by some nurses at the mall. The reading was 134/76. About an hour earlier I walked for an hour. I think the bigger influence was having 4 cups of coffee that morning which is more than I normally have. Actually two cups but each cup holds 16 ounces. They wrote down my numbers on a form that had ten tips for lowering it naturally.

One tip was to lower caffeine. It cited a recent Duke study that said consumption of 500 mg(roughly three 8-ounce cups of coffee) increased BP througout the day until bedtime. The other tips were:

Manage weight, Exercise regularly, eat healthy, limit sodium intake, don't smoke, drink less alcohol, relax, eat dark chocolate, consume potassium. Each point was then expounded on, about a paragraph or so.

I was thinking of getting it checked next month after incoporating some of the tips.


The last time i was at The once year doctors check. He told me that as long ones BP is under 140/90 all is normal and therefore all good. Why do you think you have a problem ?

 

[Rolla07]

What most people dont understand is that if you have your BP tested after walking in a mall without sitting still for 5-10 mins is that your BP might read high. You should take BP readings while at rest and take them at multiple different times through the day for most accurate readings. Obviously the other factors are important too.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: shDK
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Had mine checked yesterday by some nurses at the mall. The reading was 134/76. About an hour earlier I walked for an hour. I think the bigger influence was having 4 cups of coffee that morning which is more than I normally have. Actually two cups but each cup holds 16 ounces. They wrote down my numbers on a form that had ten tips for lowering it naturally.

One tip was to lower caffeine. It cited a recent Duke study that said consumption of 500 mg(roughly three 8-ounce cups of coffee) increased BP througout the day until bedtime. The other tips were:

Manage weight, Exercise regularly, eat healthy, limit sodium intake, don't smoke, drink less alcohol, relax, eat dark chocolate, consume potassium. Each point was then expounded on, about a paragraph or so.

I was thinking of getting it checked next month after incoporating some of the tips.


The last time i was at The once year doctors check. He told me that as long ones BP is under 140/90 all is normal and therefore all good. Why do you think you have a problem ?
That is borderline high. The doctor told you wrong.

I assume (not positive) none of us are doctors. You need to have an office visit with a normal doctor.

I do have somewhat high blood pressure and take medicine at a minor dose.

To the original OP, I would suggest you make a appt. first thing in the morning with your doctor, no caffeine anything before the appt.

There is also the "white coat syndrome" where your blood pressure goes up when you walk into the doctors office.

I would not trust the machines in the stores.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: shDK
Why do you think you have a problem ?


Not a problem, just room for improvment and to discuss the topic for awareness . I'd like to get it down since the chart says to get the upper number under 120 for normal. Prehypertension 120-139, hypertension stage one 140-159, hypertension stage two 160+, hypertensive CRISIS(Emergency Care Needed) 180+.

Here is the link to the 10 tips to lower it naturally. Just the very top of the page.

http://www.modernhearthealth.com/heart-healthy-diet/

Potassium according to the link can lower the ill effects of sodium. From natural things like banannas, baked potato with skin, orange juice, and nonfat or low-fat yougurt.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Fish oil + omega 3s

Either a supplement or consume more fish.

 

[Drew99GT]

I suffer from high blood pressure and I tried for months doing all the natural stuff and it really helps. My BP will sometimes be in the 170/110 range if I'm worked up and on edge (which is most of the time).

The main things that have helped me are cutting alcohol consumption, weight loss, and exercise. I still try and limit sodium and caffeine. Aerobic exercise has helped the most; I can keep my BP in the 135/85 range without medication ONLY if I regularly exercise.

 

[HTSS_TR]

My upper number is 11x-12x never above 130, lower number is 6x-7x never above 80.

 

[Chris142]

120 over 80 at the dr last week

 

[SrDriver]

Doctors' told me if it tastes good spit it out you are eating the wrong stuff.

 

[dave1251]

Capsaicin is believed to help lower blood pressure who know for sure because each of is different. The only drawback I foresee it is found in chile peppers. The hotter the pepper more capsaicin.

How often do you engage in physical activity?

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: SrDriver
Doctors' told me if it tastes good spit it out you are eating the wrong stuff.



Darn. I would not eat or drink anything then other than Mole. Not the animal but the salsa that is a variation of chili peppers and chocolate. This is the only thing I have tried that is a food that I have no care for and actually think taste terrible. Other than shellfish. Because I am allergic to shellfish.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: dave1251
Capsaicin is believed to help lower blood pressure who know for sure because each of is different. The only drawback I foresee it is found in chile peppers. The hotter the pepper more capsaicin.

How often do you engage in physical activity?


I have to everyday, even if it's like 10 minutes of just jogging up my street. I try and do hour long harder workouts several times a week.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I've got White Coat syndrome, so my blood pressure readings at a doctor's office don't represent what I typically experience. It's as high as 170/100 at the office, with heart rate humming (150 bpm), but at rest at home, I'm more like 130/85 and around 80 resting bpm.

If your blood pressure is reported high, it's not a bad idea to buy a meter and check it at home, over a period of many weeks. It'll give you a more representative baseline.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
The reading was 134/76.

I was thinking of getting it checked next month after incoporating some of the tips.


So, back to basics on this. The 134 (systolic, pressure) is high, not "below hypertension and OK"...it's high. Anything above 120 is high.

But, the 74 (diastolic, or resting) is pretty good.

So, when you see the two out of line like that, it's likely caffeine, nerves (white coat hypertension, I suffer from it too) or other environmental things that you can control.

Follow the guidelines: lose weight, cut salt, cut caffeine, and learn to relax when they're taking your pressure. I recommend closing your eyes, and focusing on something peaceful (seriously...). Also, nicotine seriously raises your BP...one more reason to quite smoking and one more reason that e-cigs are bad for you...you're still getting nicotine...

Finally, BP will tend to go up with age. If you're looking at these numbers now, you need to address them now, before the long term, cumulative damage is done.

 

[spasm3]

Some people do have white coat hypertension, Its high in the office or when checked. The key is to check it morning and night for several days and see what the trend is. Exercise and not being overweight is the number one thing you can control ( no smoking a given.) Avoid vasoconstrictors like decongestants(also cocaine, amphetamines too). Some people are genetically hypertensive and the only choice is medication ultimately. In males usually if the mother had hypertension, so will the son.