Blood pressure

My last blood pressure reading was 118/90. Why is this bad and what are my choices of management?

[jondsam]

Honestly that is not that bad.  There are so many factors that can contribute to even the slightest increase in pressure. like sodium intake, stress, anxiety, time of day, and many more.  If you took you pressure with an at home monitor frequently and it was this high, most doctors will probably recommend lifestyle changes like exercise, diet, etc.  You really are not high enough to start a beta blocker or anything.  You should be able to drop that 90 pretty easy with a little change to your life.  If you cant it is possible you could maybe take a low dose beta blocker.  I really would not worry about it, it is pre-hypertension.  If you get your pressure checked at the doctors office, many people become excited or worried about it right before the nurse takes it.  If this happens you will be abnormally high.  I remember last week, the doctor gave me a cortisone shot im my foot and took my pressure 1 minute after.  Go figure it was 145\93!  That is completely normal for the situation.

[jondsam]

The second number in the blood pressure reading is always worse to be high.  The first number is the pressure when the heart beats and forces blood out of the ventricles.  The second number is the reading when your heart is resting in between beats.  It is always worse to have the pressure higher on your heart when it is relaxing for a half of a second.  Anyways, I would not worry to much about it!  Keep monitor it for awhile, and get you one of those digital home blood pressure monitors.  They store records of your pressure and give you a more accurate reading because you are relaxed in your own home.  If it is high when you are at home, then you might get a little more concerned.  You can buy one from ebay for 29.99 new with free shipping.

Jondsam (BSN)

[erijon]

I agree with jondsam, blood pressure is dynamic and is subject to change based on your current levels of stress, both emotional and physical. One thing you should keep in mind, as jondsam said, the diastolic (second) number represents the pressure in your heart during it's relaxation phase as it refills. A consistently high diastolic number could indicate diastolic dysfunction which simply means your heart muscle is not able to relax enough to fill completely. The cause could be thickening of the walls of your left ventricle, better know as LVH. A simple echo could rule that out, but I would not panic over one reading, I would watch it and see if the number is consistently high.

Hope this helps,

Jon

[NTB]

Hi, if you're over 50, then diastolic is not as important as systolic. So says the latest Joint National Committee (JNC-7), on hypertension - and those are the guidelines most followed.

Look into the DASH Diet for how/why to change eating to lower BP.