Re: pulse pressure

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - CRC on December 22, 1998 at 18:04:31:

In Reply to: pulse pressure posted by John on December 20, 1998 at 20:58:17:






:                                                           Hello                                                                                                              On the internet one can find a lot of information about blood pressure, but not as much about pulse pressure of blood pressure.Usually it is said, the lower the blood pressure the better.What about pulse pressure,is it better if it lower than 40? Would 25 or 30 be better than 50 or 55?What is optimum pulse pressure?Thank you.John
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear John,
Thank you for your question.  I assume that by pulse pressure you mean heart rate.  Heart rate is similar to blood pressure in that lower is generally better.  However, as with blood pressure, too low is not very good either.  Normal resting heart rate is between 50 and 100.  Athletes have lower heart rates sometimes reaching 30 when they are asleep.  Much lower than this and people start to have problems with poor blood flow to the brain and usually get lightheaded or experience episodes of passing out.  Persons with very low heart rates and these symptoms will often require a pacemaker.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem                                                                                                                 No, I did not mean heart rate when I said pulse pressure.Example, 120(sys)--80(dia) 40 pulse pressure.What I wanted to know was, is it better if it is less than 40?Would 25 or 30(pulse pressure) be better than 50 or 55?What is optimum pulse pressure?Thank you.John
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Dear John,
Thank you for the clarification.    There is no known "optimum" pressure difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressures.  This may be widened in conditions such as aortic regurgitation and narrowed in aortic stenosis.  Otherwise there is no real way to change this difference.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.