# Blood Pressure



## Physix (Jul 25, 2011)

Every time the nurses check my blood pressure, it's on the high side. What I want to know is,

1. Do you think there will be health consequences down the road from mild hypertension?

2. Also, do you know good ways of reducing hypertension without weight reduction?


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## Fat Brian (Jul 25, 2011)

Does the nurse allow you to rest before taking your BP ? If not it could be slightly high from walking to the test station and it not being a true resting reading. Also, is there any way you could test at home and see if the readings are different ? Some people are nervous about being at the doctor and their BP reflects their nervous state.


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jul 25, 2011)

I believe Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn has had some luck reducing hypertension through meditation and stress-relief practices. You might take a look at his book _Full Catastrophe Living_ and see what you think.


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## Miss Vickie (Jul 25, 2011)

If the cuff is too small, it will read high (inappropriate so) so it's important that they use the right size cuff. And yes, there are health consequences to even mild hypertension over time. The microvessels that provide a blood supply to your eyes, your kidneys and your extremities are affected by high blood pressure; over time they can become damaged. The larger vessels that feed your brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and liver (among others) can also be affected and be damaged, which can lead to heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.

It's a good idea to take your blood pressure at home, at a fire station, or even in one of those do it yourself cuffs outside the pharmacy if your arm will fit. That way you'll get a better sense of what's normal for you. 

Hope this helps!


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## Ruffie (Jul 26, 2011)

My Doctor has me on a low dose medicine for my blood pressure which controls it quite nicely. I work in a high stress job and recently had some things happen that caused even more stress resulting in a month medical leave to de stress and begin a healthier lifestyle to control heart rate and blood pressure. My doctor advised me to exercise more and if I could lose 10% of my body weight that would go a long way to improving my health. So I started eating cleaner, exercising more, and every time I check my blood pressure when at the pharmacy or grocery store the numbers are lower. I have about twenty pounds off in three months and will see what the doctor says when I go back to check my progress. I guess what I am suggesting is to do what you need to in order to take care of you. I thought because I was on medicine that I was going to be ok, but as I aged and took care of everyone around me before taking care of me, my body paid a price. I am even considering leaving a job I loved and looking for something less stressful in order to take care of my health. 
I found a good doctor, went in and told her I was interviewing her for the position of my doctor and outlined what I would and would not accept from her. Her nurse knows that I will demand the larger cuff and every time I come in makes sure that she takes the blood pressure with that. There are many places online that will give you a "diet" that will help with blood pressure. Take good care of yourself because YOU are worth it!


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## Fuzzy (Jul 26, 2011)

Miss Vickie said:


> If the cuff is too small, it will read high (inappropriate so) so it's important that they use the right size cuff. And yes, there are health consequences to even mild hypertension over time. The microvessels that provide a blood supply to your eyes, your kidneys and your extremities are affected by high blood pressure; over time they can become damaged. The larger vessels that feed your brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and liver (among others) can also be affected and be damaged, which can lead to heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.
> 
> It's a good idea to take your blood pressure at home, at a fire station, or even in one of those do it yourself cuffs outside the pharmacy if your arm will fit. That way you'll get a better sense of what's normal for you.
> 
> Hope this helps!



Ditto this. Check it more often in a variety of ways, if possible, to see if that borderline high pressure isn't just nerves when visiting the clinic.


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## Physix (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for all your advice. I've actually taken it at a relative's house, not just the hospital, and my weight is moderate, so I don't want to lose more. Stress is likely a part of it - seems like I can't get away from it no matter what I try! But meditation is something I don't do much of anymore, and if that plus more exercise & potassium chloride salt doesn't do the trick, I'll probably try a low dose medication. My numbers aren't really high, but I'm pretty health conscious - I've seen enough people die over the past few years that I want to live a long time for my wife and kids.


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## Diana_Prince245 (Jul 29, 2011)

My doctor/NP told me to cut down on my caffeine, and now that the only caffeine I get is from a daily cup of green tea, my blood pressure is back within normal range. You might give that a try as well.


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## Physix (Jul 30, 2011)

Really? I'd never heard that. Looking around the Internet, I get the impression that caffeine doesn't really affect blood pressure in thelong run, although I can easily see that it might affect some individuals and not others.

Still, I do agree with you that caffeine is better restricted - my caffeine today consisted of a cup of half-caff black tea. I've noticed that if I don't drink coffee, cola, or tea regularly, I get noticable effects from just a little bit.


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## Diana_Prince245 (Jul 30, 2011)

I may have been drinking four Americanos each with four shots of espresso every day. Maybe.

But even when I don't have that much, my blood pressure is lower when I restrict myself to just one drink with caffeine per day.

My nursing professors also agreed with my doctor, so ya know.


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## Miss Vickie (Jul 30, 2011)

It has an immediate effect, but only so long as it's in your body. Depending on the individual, how much is consumed, how it's consumed, what it's consumed with, it increases the sympathetic response to varying degrees; as a result, you get increased heart rate, blood pressure, and for some people -- jitteriness.

Worse, however, is the diuretic effect of caffeine. It causes you to dump some really important minerals -- including magnesium and calcium, which can regulate blood pressure.

That being said, I love the stuff. :smitten:


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## Diana_Prince245 (Aug 1, 2011)

Who doesn't?:wubu:


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## Webmaster (Aug 8, 2011)

Physix said:


> Every time the nurses check my blood pressure, it's on the high side. What I want to know is,
> 1. Do you think there will be health consequences down the road from mild hypertension?
> 2. Also, do you know good ways of reducing hypertension without weight reduction?



I don't think anyone knows for sure. My blood pressure has been mildly high all my life though I don't smoke, hardly ever drink anything alcoholic, am of average size (6' - 160), and regularly exercise. So I am really unsure whether I should freak myself out over it and get on whatever medications they might prescribe, or simply feel that I am leading the best life I can and assume this is simply the way my system works.


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## mossystate (Aug 8, 2011)

Every body is different...yup. I know that when I weighed less, my blood pressure was lower. Also the moving less thing has hurt me. So, I hope to lose some weight and move mah butt and the rest of me...more. Hope springs eternal.


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## Jes (Aug 8, 2011)

Miss Vickie said:


> .
> It causes you to dump some really important minerals -- including magnesium and calcium, which can regulate blood pressure.



Yes, but it replaces them with other really important minerals -- like...arabica and kona, which can make mornings slighty bearable.


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## Miss Vickie (Aug 9, 2011)

To answer some of the questions posed here...

The older we get, the less elastic our vessels become, and as a result, there is increased resistance in the vessels that your heart has to pump against to get blood to the extremities. That resistance causes the heart to work harder, which increases its pressure over time. This causes several things to happen. The heart remodels itself, meaning that the left side of the heart, gets bigger and bigger to "beef up" the muscle, but unfortunately this increases its demand for nutrients and makes it beat less efficiently. Eventually it can lead to something called "left sided heart failure". Our heart valves are not meant to withstand this level of pressure, and they, too, can fail.

Another thing that happens is that with the larger vessels, increased pressure, coupled with high cholesterol and inflammation can cause damage to the inside lining of the vessels. This can lead to plaque formation, and eventually complete closing off of the vessel or a clot forming and going to some place you don't want it to go to, like your brain (a stroke), or your lungs (pulmonary embolism) or your heart (MI).

Finally, the effect on the small blood vessels of the body -- think eyes, kidneys, extremities and genitalia (yes, men, I'm lookin' at you!) -- become damaged by the increased pressure which leads to loss of vision, permanent renal damage (and eventually failure) and impotence. When this is coupled with diabetes, which increases inflammation and adds crystals of glucose to those small vessels and you have a marked loss in function of those organs. 

How does weight play into it? When we gain weight, our bodies have to increase the length and number of vessels to "feed" that tissue. As our bodies do this, in order to be sure that blood makes it so far from the heart (miles and miles of vessels) it beats harder to increase pressure in the capillary beds. This increases to the same rigidity of the vessels I was talking about before.

Some people naturally have low blood pressure and so while their pressure might be higher as they age and gain weight, they're still in the normal category. However, research is showing more and more end organ damage at lower blood pressures, which is why they're recommending treatment (lifestyle or medications or both) of hypertension at lower numbers than before. Blood pressure medications are quite safe and people usually do very well; however, hypertension isn't known as the "silent killer" for nothing. Most people feel quite good until they have a stroke, heart attack or throw a clot.

And yes, Jes, I'm with you. I do love me some coffee. I just take extra minerals every day to cover the loss.


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## Darell (Sep 28, 2011)

Hi Physix,
Some effective tips for you to reduce high blood pressure.
Do exercise regularly,
Reduce and maintain weight,
Control your stress,
Monitor your blood pressure,
Avoid or limit alcohol,
Cut back on smoking and caffeine,
Reduce the amount of salt and sodium in your diet plans,
Eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy products more in your diet.


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## knottyknicky (Sep 30, 2011)

Start taking a high quality fish oil product daily. I swear by this. Fish oil has a myriad of health benefits, lower blood pressure is only one of them. make sure its a high quality one though, preferably third-party tested for mercury and other contaminants, and keep it in the fridge if you can, just to keep the oils from going rancid. A good magnesium supplement helps too, but it has to be the kind you can actually use, like citrate. I really like Natural Calm, which is powdered and a little effervescent in warm water. I mix it with a cup of tea and honey, or just drink it on its own. Start with a smaller dose (1 tsp or so) and then work your way up. It really relaxes you, which helps lower your blood pressure. I sleep like a baby when I take this stuff regularly


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## CastingPearls (Sep 30, 2011)

High blood pressure isn't the only one that's dangerous. On Tuesday mine was taken twice because they thought they had a false reading. It was somewhere between 80-90/60 (It's very quiet and hard to hear) and my doctor said if it were any lower he'd have hospitalized me. Normally it's 100/60 but for it to lower for no reason, especially since I've been under a lot of stress lately and it could have/should have been understandably higher and wasn't.


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## pdesil071189 (Mar 14, 2012)

I am one of those lucky bastards who can smoke like a chainsaw and be overweight and still have relatively low blood pressure. Last time I checked mine I was just one point high and I was under a tremendous amount of stress and was smoking like a chainsaw. Only once have I ever been told I have high blood pressure and I am pretty the nurse (fresh out of nursing school) messed it up. Cuff was too tight and she held it on instead of getting a larger one


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