Jack, you wrote, "Aside from aging, ... viral infection... are also leading contributors to the occurrence of high diastolic blood pressure".
What book is that from? I am looking into how a virus infection might be causing my sudden IDH. Thanks.
Also, do you know what the mechanism is for a virus to cause diastolic to rise? Is that speaking only of an infection of the heart itself?
thank you so much for your answer . it perfectly explains how the heart works and helps me understand what i can do to prevent heart problems in the future. i will reread your answer later again. curious though. i DID post in doctor forums and i posted another question in doctor "expert" forums but it keeps coming up in community forums. what is going on? and why can't i post in expert forum?
This is the "patient" forum. You can find the doctor's forum if you take a look at the site map, I think. It is here :)
I have diastolic dysfunction and yes my diastolic pressure is higher or more of a concern than my systolic pressure, though both are high. The muscle mass of my left ventricle does not relax during the diastolic (filling) phase, which creates high left ventricular diastolic pressure. This can lead to Diastolic Heart Failure, and on to Congestive Heart Failure, without the medicinal treatment and changes in lifestyle.
I have read that a high resting heart rate can also cause high diastolic pressure. You smoke, so your resting heart rate will be much higher than a non-smoker. The carbon monoxide that enters your blood stream is sensed by the brain. The brain thinks you are in a forest fire, so it increases your heart rate to pump a greater volume of blood through your lungs, in an effort to get more O2 into your blood stream. Nicotine also chemically causes a higher heart rate.
I found some information below on high diastolic BP, in my book:
"Causes of diastolic high blood pressure include aging of the heart and its natural effects. When a person grows old his heart muscles get weary and eventually stiffen making it harder for the heart to fill with blood.
Diastolic high blood pressure, if not treated well, may lead to diastolic heart failure. Diagnosis of diastolic high blood pressure may pose a risk to the patient for diseases and illnesses like CAD or coronary heart disease, aortic stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and other pericardial diseases.
Aside from aging, poor lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking, high cholesterol levels, obesity, high salt consumption, prior cardiac surgery, viral infection, family history and diabetes are also leading contributors to the occurrence of high diastolic blood pressure."