Oh my Blood Pressure!

[Huxlly]

What is the correct figure for blood pressure? Mine is 140/90 and my doctor keeps checking it every time I see him. He says it is alright, but this constant checking worries me.

[arian_ma]

Last time I checked mine it was like 118/68 or something ridiculous like that.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by Huxlly
What is the correct figure for blood pressure? Mine is 140/90 and my doctor keeps checking it every time I see him. He says it is alright, but this constant checking worries me.

Seems a bit high to me.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hbp/HBP_WhatIs.html

[Zhariak]

My Doctor always used to check my blood pressure when it was normal.... The numbers always checked out.

When I was 21 my doctor diagnosed me with Stage 2 high blood pressure... Thankfully he always checked before that, and that's why he noticed it when it started... (Not fun, considering I'm a healthy 6'2 male medium build 195lbs.... lol)

[Aleks]

Originally posted by arian_ma
Last time I checked mine it was like 118/68 or something ridiculous like that.

This is closer to normal that OPs BP which to me seems a bit high.

[Super_Geo]

How old are you and how much do you weigh?

Ideally you'd be around 120/80. Do some jogging/biking (not too fast) for 40 mins at least 2-3 times a week. You'll see your blood pressure drop.

It's high because your arteries and blood vessels are clogged. Exercising in your 'aerobic zone' (70-80% of your max heart rate) for extended periods of time will not only help to unclog your blood vessels, it will slightly increase their size. Less restriction = lower pressure required to circulate blood.

And yes, 140/90 is high... I'd do something about it if I were you.

[bball2]

120/80 or lower is ideal. Doing cardiovascular exercise / reducing salt in your diet usually helps bring it down.

[wintonyk]

once you are over 130/90 you are considered at risk hypertensive. Lots of things you can do with your diet to help lower blood pressure.

Seeing first hand experience with a few clients, dark chocolate (1 oz of 70%+ per day) and 1-2 glasses of red wine (malbec is preferable) will also help lower.

Exercise is the more obvious one, your arteries become more flexible. Of course there are exceptions with regards to high blood pressure.

For example mine is 135/55. Crazy difference but this is attributed to conditioning and a very low resting heart rate of 44 bpm.