Blood pressure during and after exercise

[athlete01733]

HI, I am a relatively healthy 22 year old that runs 3 miles 5 days a week at an 8 min/mile pace. My normal blood pressure and resting heart rate are 118/76 and around 50 BPM. My question is more for my general knowledge because I can't seem to find a solid answer. Specifically, what exactly happens to one's blood pressure during exercise? I took my blood pressure within one minute of my run today and it was 103/58 and 139 BPM. I am wondering if it is a normal reaction for blood pressure to drop during running or exercise in general.

Thanks

[kenkeith]

It is normal for the diastolic pressure to drop during exercise (aerobic) as there is vasodilation of the arteries.  Dilated vessels there is less shear stress that would cause higher resistence and has does a wider diameter.

The systolic should increase as there is an increase of blood volume (dilated vessels), greater filling capacity that increases LV contractility (Frank/Starling mechanism.  The demand for oxygenated blood is increased by skeletal muscles and the heart pumps harder to meet that demand and to pump more blood through the vessels increases the pressure even though there is some elasticty of the vessels.

If systolic (upper number) doesn't increase it may be considered abnormal. Normally, the response would be a progressive increase.  At rest after  exercise, systolic blood pressure progressively declines during recovery. If there is an abrupt drop in BP systolic that could be due to pooling of blood in the peripheral areas of the circulatory system.

"Blood pressure is also variable and can increase due to exercise where the cardiac output increases thus forcing more blood through the arteries or by altering the peripheral resistance. This occurs by vasoconstriction, increases in blood viscosity (thickness) and changes in shape or size of the vessels. The regulation of blood pressure is the responsibility of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems"

Hope this provides a perspective and thanks for the question.  Take care,

Ken