High Blood Pressure

In article ,
he BOTTOM number, the one we all concern
ourselves

Er .. no.

Both numbers are important, but most people are more concerned about
the top one. (Perhaps wrongly so, but in any event, the important
number is the one that is high for its range. 160/70 ought to worry
you, and so should 130/110.)

Both numbers are important, so is the difference between the numbers.
Worst outcmes have been observed with wide pulse pressures. The upper
number is the systolic blood pressure, and the lower number is the
diasytolic blood pressure. SBP and DBP. DBP reflects the pressure at
rest, and SBP reflects the increase in pressure when your heart
squeezes/pumps blood. High DBP is bad for 'end organ damage' (kidneys,
eyes, liver, etc). High SBP is bad for 'popping things': stroke, heart
attack, ulcers, etc.
A wide difference between the numbers (low resting pressure, but high
pressure to pump/move blood) normally means theres a 'blockage' somewhere
(often in the heart, eg. aortic stenosis; CAD leading to a blockage to the
brain, etc).
A lot of 'older' citizens will develop only high SBP. There's some
debate about the risk factors for having a normal DBP with a high SBP, but
on the whole we try to treat everyone. The problem is that most meds drop
both, so you don't have a lot of room to play with if someone is 160/75

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:18:25 +0000 (UTC),
('Vejita' S. Cousin) wrote:

A wide difference between the numbers (low resting pressure, but high
pressure to pump/move blood) normally means theres a 'blockage' somewhere
(often in the heart, eg. aortic stenosis; CAD leading to a blockage to the
brain, etc).

I ran across the concept of "pulse pressure" on the internet and
sprang it on my doc. He scoffed at it. I think the differential was
anything greater than 40, meaning that one should be alarmed by a BP
of 130/60, which otherwise sounds admirable. (That's my BP on meds.)

But I certainly agree that it would be hard to treat in any event.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

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Give us an insite as to what your diet is - that's where high BP starts.

Cockpit Colin wrote:

Give us an insite as to what your diet is - that's where high BP starts.

Well, he keeps talking about brats and full-bodied beer. That should give you a
clue.

George Patterson
Drink up, Socrates -- it's all-natural.

Look up the DASH diet, it's been proven to reduce bp the order of
6mm/4mm. May be enough to reduce meds. Weight loss of 10 kG (22 pounds
or so) has been found to be worth about -10mm/-7mm or so.

BP does matter: things start happening more often once you start
running above 115/77 pr sp, and of course get worse the high it is.
Hey, the changes aren't dramatic, but it's your life. Even if the
likelyhood of a stroke in a given year goes from 3% to 2%, if it's YOUR
stroke that's avoided, you're ahead of the game.

Take responsibility!

Give us an insite as to what your diet is - that's where high BP starts.

Well, he keeps talking about brats and full-bodied beer. That should give
you a
clue.

Hey, now. Those are only occasional pleasures.

Breakfast is usually a "sawdust bar" (one of those high-fiber, low fat
granola bars) or a piece of left-over bakery (muffin, bagel) from the hotel,
and "Half-and-half" coffee. (50% of the normal caffeine.)

Lunch is a half sandwich and bowl of soup, with chips and a diet pop.

Supper is whatever Mary makes, or whatever we eat at a restaurant. This is
obviously a dangerous meal, and one that I have the most trouble with.

Last night it was ribs, baked potato and sour cream, green beans, salad and
water. And, since it was my "Saturday night", a couple of Sprecher beers.

All and all, not a bad day -- but too much salt and fat. Still, I just
finished 30 minutes of lifting with my son, so hopefully I've offset some of
it!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
Give us an insite as to what your diet is - that's where high BP starts.

Well, he keeps talking about brats and full-bodied beer. That should give
you a
clue.


Hey, now. Those are only occasional pleasures.

Breakfast is usually a "sawdust bar" (one of those high-fiber, low fat
granola bars) or a piece of left-over bakery (muffin, bagel) from the hotel,
and "Half-and-half" coffee. (50% of the normal caffeine.)

Lunch is a half sandwich and bowl of soup, with chips and a diet pop.

Supper is whatever Mary makes, or whatever we eat at a restaurant. This is
obviously a dangerous meal, and one that I have the most trouble with.

Last night it was ribs, baked potato and sour cream, green beans, salad and
water. And, since it was my "Saturday night", a couple of Sprecher beers.

All and all, not a bad day -- but too much salt and fat. Still, I just
finished 30 minutes of lifting with my son, so hopefully I've offset some of
it!
Of what you listed only the beans, salad, water and lifting are "good".
I do all the cooking and I serve things such as fish (2x per week),
bean salad (not baked beans), turkey, lots of vegetables, tomatoes, etc.
Try a can of "pink salmon" for lunch. Look on http://www.webmd.com
for discussion boards on high blood pressure, diabetes, diets for losing
weight. Dr. Ornish has a board there.

Also, for additional exercise, we do a couple of hours of
http://www.geocaching.com . It's enjoyable hiking through the woods,
with a goal. I've found trails and parks within two miles of my home
that I had not discovered in 18 years of living here!

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:t_y0e.101078$Ze3.47168@attbi_s51...

All and all, not a bad day -- but too much salt and fat. Still, I just
finished 30 minutes of lifting with my son, so hopefully I've offset some
of it!
--

Hmmm, This needs a thread between anaerobic and aerobic exercises.
First off, any time the calorie output exceeds the calorie input the result
is a net loss in weight -- regardless of the type of exercise. So much for
that.
But the real answer to exercising to improve the cardiovascular system
lies in aerobic exercise. A minimum aerobic workout would be something
equivalent to walking at a pace that pushes your heart rate up to your
individual training range and sustaining that pulse rate for at least 20
minutes, followed by a gradual cool-down to prevent cramping.
The published minimum is three times a week, although I hear rumors that
both duration and frequency are being increased by the pundits. In any case,
start out at the minimums and increase gradually. What I discovered was
that, as I began to improve, I had to work harder and longer just to get the
pulse rate into the training range. I can't run because of a hip problem so
I had to keep extending the times, that works also.
You can do the same thing indoors with treadmills, stationary bikes,
elliptical trainers, stairstepper, etc., when the weather doesn't permit.
Personally, I like to see the sky and smell the flowers so I'm outside
whenever I can.
Anaerobic, free-weights, Nautilus, etc., are great for muscle
development. I do 3 days aerobic alternating with 2 days anaerobic.
I'm on a BP med and my doc just cut the dose in half. My BP, typically,
is 110/60, now.
In any case, DO NOT rely on exercise alone to improve your CV status.
Over a period of time, calories out has to exceed calories in if you are
going to reduce the weight. I'll bet though, that weight isn't your
problem, not working as an inn-keeper.

My experience is that excessive amounts of high glycemic index carbohydrates
will be causing most of your problem. (breads / potatoe / muffins / beers /
even most "sawdust bars" / the soup - and the caffeine in the coffee and
diet coke have much the same effect as the bad carbs in that they raise
insuline levels and promote fat storage.

There are a zillion diets out there - all of them different, and yet in many
ways, many of them are remarkably similar in both what they recommend you
eat and recommend you avoid.

Most recommend ...

Fruit - vegetables (pref not root vegetables) - lean meat (fish, chicken
etc)

Most discourage such things as bread / pasta / potatoe / anything with
caffiene.

For me the zone diet lowered my BP lowered my cholesterol lowered my weight
and a whole lot more - Atkins works well too once you understand that
although they say a high fat content is OK it doesn't mean that your protein
source HAS to be pork chops with saturated fats literally dripping from
them.

Just my 10c worth!

Cockpit Colin wrote:

Give us an insite as to what your diet is - that's where high BP starts.



It also can start from heredity.

Matt