bruce19

Just wondering if anyone has any insight into this. My BP has always been near 120/80, maybe a bit higher on occasion. And, when I was in the hospital in July it was actually a bit lower than 120/60. But, in the past month or so it has consistently been around 137/93. I have to find a new PCP (mine moved out of the area last week) and when I do BP will be the first order of business. I realized that since I got back into cycling about 10 yrs. ago my BP has gone up not down. Is that because of aging? Why wouldn't riding 100 mi a week do just the opposite? How bad is 137/93? FWIW I feel great and have lost 12 lbs since July. But, I am told high BP has no obvious symptoms.

one_beatnik

That's slightly higher than the norm, but not a lot to worry about. Go ride!

RonH

Did you check it several times during the day?
When I go to the doctor mine is always around 150/90. Then after being in the examining room for 15 minutes the doc checks it again and its 125/72. At home when I'm relaxed its usually in the range of 120-128/60-70.

jth1959

Go find a new PCP and ask them to do a 24 hr blood pressure monitoring. You wear the cuff around your arm and clip the monitor to your belt, it takes readings every 20 minutes during the day and every hour at night. The PCP will then be able to determine whether or not you have an issue.

I believe the criteria for meds is being over the recommended BP 30% of the time.

Terex

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health//dci...BP_WhatIs.html

Dudelsack 

Glad to get here before the conspiracy theorists show up.

As the blood pressure creeps up, the question is whether or not there is evidence of it hurting anything.

Easy things to measure are kidney function and heart size. If the heart starts to compensate by enlarging, that's not a good thing. Kidney damage is obviously a bad thing.

If there's no evidence that mild hypertension is causing a particular individual harm, therapy can be pretty conservative.

I may talk to my own PCP about ambulatory BP monitoring. It sounds like a good idea if it isn't too costly.

CommuteCommando

All things being equal, exercise should lower BP. If yours is going up, something else is probably going on. Look at your diet, and have your cholesterol checked. High cholesterol doesn't necessarily cause BP to go up, but it can.

I have a wrist cuff BP monitor that I took to a doctors visit to calibrate against theirs, and it's pretty accurate. Doc's told me to get one (and to bring it in to check calibration) due to my history of heart disease. BP is not a problem for me but cholesterol is, so I keep an eye on BP to make sure it stays low.

Mine was under $100

https://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/...FdRufgodNA8ALg

bruce19

I just got one via Amazon and have been using it for the past two days. I don't know if/how pulse rate is connected but mine is pretty consistently between 54-60 bpm.

bruce19

Just did a quick search and apparently there is "no good correlation" between BP and pulse.

tigat

After an adult lifetime of being 90-100 over 60-70, a routine work screening last Feb. brought me in at 145 over 110. The same or higher numbers repeated over the next few weeks, even though lipids and blood sugars were all their usual low selves and I was five lbs lighter and in better shape than I had been for years. Freaked me out. Why, all of the sudden, with only positive lifestyle changes to factor in?

A month and a half later, with no change other than no longer adding salt to cooked food, I was back down to 100-110 over 65-75, which has stayed my new normal. Thank goodness. My plan b, based on literature and doctor input, was to throw out the alcohol.

Shamrock

My bp is always higher on the electronic - digital monitor .I always ask for the manual and it is lower.

wthensler 

I've never had a physician tell me not to exercise as part of a health routine, but i do respect that some folks may have limitations. As I am now in my mid-late 50s, I am more health conscious and do monitor my BP at home. After a good hard ride, I shower, relax a bit and stick on the cuff. It'll drop to 110 / 70 which leads me to believe that cardio workouts are having a beneficial effect. High salt and excess alcohol? Forget about it ( at least for me).

fietsbob

so .. not a tar ball tour of the Gulf coast..

Terex

Sorry, you're just a little dehydrated. As soon as your fluids get topped off, it will revert to your normal BP.

stapfam

Never worried about BP or Heart rate Till I had a routine check at the docs. Resting HR was around 70 so not too bad but BP was 165/80 and I queried it. Nurse said it was fine and within limits but I asked the doc about it when I saw her. She was not unduly worried but in view of the cycling and gym work I was doing- I was. Around that time there was a thread running on BP and most were around 120/70 so I felt that this was a bit too high. She agreed so put on Ramipril to bring BP down and it is now around 135-140/70 and although not good- it is lower than it was so better mentally for me.

Don't feel any better now I am on the meds so did I have a problem in the first place?

Sixty Fiver

I'm still a punk at 48 but am already a curmudgeon (if you ask my wife).

When I first went to my doctor's new office and met his new nurse, she took my blood pressure and pulse and thought there was something wrong with me... my doctor had the same reaction when we met more than a decade ago as my numbers were nearly the same then save for a lower resting pulse.

My resting pulse was in the mid 50's and BP was it's usual 110/70... my doctor explained the whole cycling thing to her.

My wife's BP usually runs a little higher because of the medications she has to take although they are still within safe limits.

bruce19

This morning I used my new BP wrist device on my right wrist and got 149/101. So, I immediately took it again on the left wrist and got 130/85. ??? FWIW I too feel great. I'm 12 lbs. down from what I was in July (only 3 lbs. over what I weighed at the end of Basic in 1969) and rode my rollers yesterday and felt better than ever.

NOS88

I agree with those who indicate that your should get it checked. My PCP always reminds me that worrying about BP can, in and of itself, raise it.

bruce19

Searching for a new PCP today.

NVanHiker

OK, I give up - what's a PCP? (Wasn't that a '60's drug?) Is that what we call a GP (General Practitioner) in canada?

NOS88

Primary care physician. It's kind of amazing how quickly we fall into using terms like this, and then assume everyone else knows what it is.

OldsCOOL

Thank you. I was beginning to have flashbacks.

Bikey Mikey

Doc took my BP this AM, well PA took it, and it was 104/60.

qcpmsame 

Bruce, I think the new physician is a good idea, the numbers you posted are kind of high, not real bad but high. I've managed to get off the BP meds as of last month, thankfully. I am usually around 120/70 +/- a bit on both, depending on the time of day.

Those are good numbers, Mikey, seems the trainer sessions are keeping you in good standing so far.

Bill

Duane Behrens

Huh? What does a bastardized label have to do with blood pressure?