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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
relationship between pulse & blood pressure & CVD risk
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relationship between pulse & blood pressure & CVD risk
by bob-mconaughey, May 05, 1999 12:00AM
Posted by bob mcconnaughey on May 05, 1999 at 11:07:21
Is there any sort of inverse relationship that exists between CVD risk & pulse rate & b.p.? I was wondering if CVD risk might be a function of (crudely) p.r.*p.b. I've been curious since I (48 yr wh.male) have had bordeline hypertension (95-100/145-155 - untreated) for several years but, probably as a result of a lifetime of exercise, a relatively low pulse rate -(38-46 resting). However, for several hours after exercise my pulse rate will remain elevated (in the upper 50s-60s) & my bp will go down quite dramatically (120/70). Now i guess the immediate decrease in bp is probably related to increased peripheral circulation during & after exercise but i'm surprised the effect is so long lasting (bp protocals generally request that the patient not have exercised for 30 min.) Since a fair bit of recent epidemiology suggests that borderline hypertension is a sig. risk factor for cvd i've been wondering about the appropriateness of bp medication - even absent any of the risk factors (smoking, weight, etc.) that my family doc feels are more predictive of cvd. I've suspected that displaying hypertension w/out any "risk factors" (other than gender!) for the condition would more or less define "essential" hypertension & that some treatment might be appropriate. any thoughts?
thanks,
bob
Posted by CCF CARDIO MD-APS on May 06, 1999 at 09:53:30
Dear Bob,
There is as yet no known "inverse" relationship known between heart rate and CVD, however, without a doubt, HYPERTENSION IS A MAJOR CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTOR.
As you seem to understand, blood pressure naturally rises with exercise as does heart rate and they should.
The National committee on blood pressure currently does not recommend medical treatment of borderline blood pressure in someone with no other CVD risk factors but this is controversial and many patients are treated after failure of change in diet and lifestyle (i.e. sedentary patients are told to exercise, and any overweight patient is told to lose weight.) And the committee does not say that it is wrong to treat borderline blood pressure.
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. Good luck.
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.
