High Blood pressure and Low pulse rate

[naumannaseer]

Hi all ! I am a 28 years old guy , 5 ft 7 inches and 160 pounds , I tracked my blood pressure and pulse for 5 days and found following results

Day      Bp         Pulse Rate

Day 1  140/90   , 62/min
Day 2  130/90   , 58/min
Day 3  110/85   , 44/min
Day 4  130/90   , 56/min
Day 5  140/90   , 60/min

I am not an athlete , infact i dont even do a mild exercise  , i am married and living a fairly stress-less life .
what could be the possible reason of this relatively high bp and low pulse rate ?

[achillea]

If you record your BP for a month and numbers like 140/90 keep coming up, then--considering how young you are--you may just be flirting with what is called 'essential' hypertension, which is what most hypertensives actually have.  It means there is no known cause, but genetics are considered an important factor. One of my friends (a fit, strong guy) ran pressures like yours when he was 19--and so did his daughter when she was in her early twenties.  If they had asked other family members about it, probably a bunch of them would have shown the same trait, so you might want to ask your mom and dad about their pressures.

Although your BPs would not be considered dangerous, you should discuss them with your doc.   Generally, lower resting numbers are preferable, especially in young people.  My friend and his daughter are on lifelong blood pressure meds, and their values have been normal for years.

Your resting heart rates are fine--nothing scary there, not even that one-time 44 bpm.  You obviously still have nice, flexible vessels, and you want to keep them that way.  Go see your doc and get a baseline evaluation.

[Mom2four85]

I've had bradycardia off/on for as long as I can remember - mine was caught at 40 on one EKG and I was also told it was nothing to worry about; but I've also had tachycardia with a hr of 250+ found.  

When they did testing right before my ablation back in 2009 my HR was 25; then they panicked and I said I told you my hr has been a rollercoaster.... I was dx with profound bradycardia & Vt and was told the low hr was probably due to HOCM (cardiomyopathy); but there are many other reasons for bradycardia - visit a cardiologist if you can and get a full workup just to be safe.

Bp can be a quirky thing. for exampl you can breathe too much or hold your breath and change it...I've tried it and freaked the dr's out lol Last Friday I was holding my breath because my bp has been high for about 6 months - my bp was 70/35 and the dr said there is NO way it could be that

stress can really wreck havoc on our bodies; I think that's what part of my problem has always been - TypeA personality and having a special needs child plus 3 other children, I worked 70+ hours a week between mine and my husband's  2 businesses - this might be a sign for you to slow down smell the roses and take stock of what's going on with your life - for me it took a brick wall to get the message.

[is_something_wrong]

You are right. Better safe than sorry :)

But in my case (and I'm definitely not an athlete, lol), Holter did show sinus bradycardia as low as 36 during the night and it was OK. From what I understand, as long as it's sinus bradycardia and you don't have symptoms, it's OK.. but of course, good to check out.

My problem with bradycardia is that I occationally use a low dose of beta blockers. That means, when I'm stressed, it will normalize the heart rate and everything is fine. When I'm NOT stressed, however, the heart rate may drop into the 40s occationally and that don't cause symptoms other than my head get a little slow (some, including my girlfriend would say it always is.. :p) doctor say it's normal though, because I "suffer" from low blood pressure.

To the original poster: Maybe ask your doctor for a 24 hour EKG as well, then.

[RNRita]

Hi. I'd like to add something here.  You should tell your doctor about any HR under 55, if you're not an athlete, at your age.  The BPs aren't too concerning because it does depend when you are taking them, but a low HR could signify a heart block and you would want to get that ruled out.  

[is_something_wrong]

Hi! and welcome.

I can't see any danger in your numbers (though I'm not a healthcare professional so my opinion doesn't matter). That said, your cholesterol, BMI and blood pressure could be labeled as "borderline" and maybe you should visit your primary care physician for considering a lifestyle change?

I had cholesterol values like yours some months ago and I started exercising and eating healthier (no white bread, no sugar, less animal fat, more vegetables, oats, nuts and oils instead of butter) and my total cholesterol went from 230 to 150, with LDL from 165 to 110 on the latest tests. My blood pressure was fairly low but it did tend to spike when I got nervous. Now it's fine everytime I measure it (about 105-115/60-70). I also lost 20 pounds or so.

I assume you're not smoking (if you do you should quit immediately).

Regarding your heart rate, 44 sounds a bit low but it all depends on symptoms. Do not pay so much attention to single BP measurements that you do yourself, they are often affected by stress/expectations. If you want to examine this, ask your doctor for a 24 hour measuring (you wear a blood pressure cuff for 24 hours which inflates 2-3 times/hour through the day). You could also ask for a 24 hour EKG monitoring, just to make sure you are in a normal rhythm all day, but I'm not sure that's necessary if you otherwise feel OK.

It could be that your heart rate in the 40s is your normal heart rate and that you're stressed the other days?

[naumannaseer]

oooh , i forgot to mention that my lipid profile 3 months back gave following results

Total Cholesterol    230 mg/dL
LDL Cholesterol     167 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol     47  mg/dL
Triglycerides          88  mg/dL