High Diastolic Pressure?

[Michaelccc]

Dear Doc. hi. i'm a 35 year old white male. 5'6 165 pounds. very slightly overweight.  No drinking , no alcohol. But smoke very heavily. Pack a day for 15 years .  Recent results of bloodwork as follows

cholesterol    179          (6 months ago 231)
triglycerides  177         (6 months ago 216)
hdl             91                (6 months ago 38)
ldl             53                (6 months ago  150)

hs-crp levels on blood test 4.0

echo results  from august 15, 2007                 IVS 1.2.  Posterior wall 1.2    docs say its normal but I feel like it can be borderline lvh    

blood pressure varies but usually around mid 120’s and mid 80’s  when measured at home.  diastolic sometimes goes down to high 70’s or low 80s and during stress rises to high 80’s or even low 90’s during high stress.

-Can anxiety affect my bp to this extent that its always in mid 80s and such ?

-Wake up with red eyes every morning. Has nothing to do with exterior allergens I can feel its coming from inside like a pressure feeling. Is this a symptom of possible hypertension

- does this sound like it may lead to DIASTOLIiC DYSFUNCTION?

- numerous echos state “possible lvh or may a normal variant”. Doctors never seem concerned with this. Should I be concerned?

- Does smoking affect diastolic readings ? or mostly systolic readings?

- Should I start exercizing? Would exercize have a major effect on diastolic?

- Does anxiety mostly rise systolic or diastolic?

[NTB]

Jack, you wrote, "Aside from aging, ... viral infection... are also leading contributors to the occurrence of high diastolic blood pressure".

What book is that from? I am looking into how a virus infection might be causing my sudden IDH. Thanks.

Also, do you know what the mechanism is for a virus to cause diastolic to rise? Is that speaking only of an infection of the heart itself?

[Michaelccc]

thank you so much for your answer . it perfectly explains how the heart works and helps me understand what i can do to prevent heart problems in the future. i will reread your answer later again.  curious though. i DID post in doctor forums and i posted another question in doctor "expert" forums but it keeps coming up in community forums. what is going on? and why can't i post in expert forum?

[Jack54]

This is the "patient" forum. You can find the doctor's forum if you take a look at the site map, I think. It is here :)

I have diastolic dysfunction and yes my diastolic pressure is higher or more of a concern than my systolic pressure, though both are high. The muscle mass of my left ventricle does not relax during the diastolic (filling) phase, which creates high left ventricular diastolic pressure. This can lead to Diastolic Heart Failure, and on to Congestive Heart Failure, without the medicinal treatment and changes in lifestyle.

I have read that a high resting heart rate can also cause high diastolic pressure. You smoke, so your resting heart rate will be much higher than a non-smoker. The carbon monoxide that enters your blood stream is sensed by the brain. The brain thinks you are in a forest fire, so it increases your heart rate to pump a greater volume of blood through your lungs, in an effort to get more O2 into your blood stream. Nicotine also chemically causes a higher heart rate.

I found some information below on high diastolic BP, in my book:

"Causes of diastolic high blood pressure include aging of the heart and its natural effects. When a person grows old his heart muscles get weary and eventually stiffen making it harder for the heart to fill with blood.

Diastolic high blood pressure, if not treated well, may lead to diastolic heart failure. Diagnosis of diastolic high blood pressure may pose a risk to the patient for diseases and illnesses like CAD or coronary heart disease, aortic stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and other pericardial diseases.

Aside from aging, poor lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking, high cholesterol levels, obesity, high salt consumption, prior cardiac surgery, viral infection, family history and diabetes are also leading contributors to the occurrence of high diastolic blood pressure."