[2phatinvictoria]

so i nearly died last night i changed my lifestyle almost 5 weeks ago.. but last night the bf and i went to walk around the mall .. and we stopped into shoppers and took that blood pressure thing.... and im pretty sure mine was not good.. this is what i got..

systolic: 141 (that is not good)
diastolic: 75 (not even on the chart)
beats per min: 86

anyone else have off numbers and should i go to the doctor.. or keep exercising and eating right then check again next month?

[squishysquirrel]

I'm a doctor, but I'm in pathology so medicine problems aren't my strongest subject. Anyhow, you should go to a GP so that your blood pressure can be monitored and you can be started on medication if you need it. You don't want to leave hypertension untreated because it can cause damage to your kidneys, brain, etc. Usually, your blood pressure has to be checked at least twice with two weeks between testing to diagnose with hypertension. Diet and exercise does help, so there is always that possibility that even if you are started on medications you will be able to come off them.

[synger]

That's actually not too bad, as blood pressure goes. Normal is anything below 130/85, though it's better to be lower than 120/80. "High Normal" is anything below 139/89.

http://www.new-fitness.com/Blood_Pressure/numbers.html

Remember also that there are a lot of things that influence BP. Stress, exercise, lack of sleep, nerves (mine is always higher when the doc takes it... I have "white coat" syndrome). My doc always makes me sit there for ten or fifteen minutes breathing deeply before she takes mine. Otherwise I get false highs. The fact that you'd been walking before hand makes me think this may have been a false high on your systolic.

Here's some results on blood pressure numbers and what they might mean.

http://www.google.com/search?q=blood...ient=firefox-a

If it does become a concern, regular exercise is the best non-medicine thing you can do for it. Lowering sodium also can help somewhat, but they're not sure how much of an impact that really has.

[ShylahEQ]

I agree with Synger, I'd think the walking had to have affected your numbers.

[JayEll]

That's not terribly bad. And, you should keep in mind that those machines in stores where you sit down and put your arm in a cuff can be off. Also, if you had sat there for 5 or 10 minutes and tried again, you could have gotten a different reading just from resting.

If you are really concerned about it, maybe you could drop in to your doctor's office and ask if someone could check your blood pressure, then check it again in 10 minutes. Lots of people have high BP just from being tested the first time--they call it "white coat syndrome."

Jay

[Eliana]

I'm self treating my BP right now. Your numbers don't sound bad, as said already. However, the thing I have found most beneficial is exercise. With hard core cardio (Spin cycle or high intensity interval training) I have seen a drastic reduction in just about three months from 155/105 (yeah, not good) down to 118/66. And my HR has gone from 82 down to 60.

I have white coat syndrome too. I'm not convinced my BP was ever really as high as 155/105, but that's where it was the past three times I'd visited the doctor. I can't believe they did not insist on treating me.

[Asherdoodles87]

I was told by doctor's that 120/80 was normal and anything over was pre-hypertension. And I was told pre-hypertension is dangerous too.

Mine was running 130/85 for a while and my doctor was giving me a hard time. After losing weight it has improved. I got it checked a couple of weeks ago and it was 118/74. So the good news is that you at least know that it's running high. Before you got it checked you were not aware of it. So now you can take steps to reduce it.

[WarMaiden]

My blood pressure was in the range of 130/80 two years ago before I changed my diet. It is now 104/62, which is low-normal.

A whole foods diet which avoids processed foods (which nearly always include vast quantities of sodium), avoiding sugar and white refined stuff, taking a fish oil supplement--I think all those things have helped me. My blood pressure came down significantly before I ever started exercising regularly.