systolic high, diastolic low

[cutie143]

hi! i'm a 22 year old woman. and i've been watching my blood pressure for a couple months now. and my systolic is always fairly high between 140-150 and my diastolic is between 50-70. what could this possibly mean? i know that high blood pressure should read 140/90 or higher, but my diastolic is never over 70. please let me know your ideas...
also, recently i've been having pain on the left side of my neck, where the carotid artery is. is this related with my blood pressure? should this be something to be worried about?

[cutie143]

:(

[Coykendall]

...you should try to stop watching your blood pressure? why did you start in the first place...over monitoring can cause your BP to go up...and once you;ve convinced yourself that your BP is high, then the pains start, etcetc...it can be a vicious circle.....or perhaps you should just go see a doc? good luck....

[sugarpea013]

Do you check it at home, or is it one of those machines at pharmacies/grocery stores? There actually is some studies done on pulse pressure that are greater than 60, and in your case that would be so. A pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic and diastolic. But since your 22 it doesn't make much sense that you would have any heart disease. I'm sorry to be upfront but are you obese or abuse alcohol/tobacco?

[Momto3]

Hypertension can be diagnosed based solely on the systolic reading.  Have you had your BP checked by your doctor?  I have a home machine and I took it to my doctor appointment to be sure of its accuracy.  If you're using a home machine, check it out with the one at your doctor's office.

A diastolic pressure of 70 is considered good, but do check with your doctor regarding the systolic reading.  Keep in mind, if you are nervous at the doctor's office, your reading may be higher (white coat hypertension).