Andrei79
Registered User
- Jan 25, 2013
- 14,851
- 26,109
Here's a subject we don't usually discuss in this thread: Blood pressure.
A month ago, I won a home blood-pressure machine at a networking meeting. Finally set it up yesterday and tried it out on myself and was terrified when it read 151 over 74. Low dystolic (the 2nd number) but high systolic (the 1st number). I'm well into my 50s, but I'm slim and a regular runner, so WTF?? Those numbers -- specifically the 151 -- put me in the Stage-1 Hypertension category and would mean I need meds. A quick Google read-through informed me that these readings are extremely variable and to take it a few times for more accuracy. So five minutes later I took the test again and sure enough, it was down to 141 over 78. Still high. Five minutes after that 137 over 80. I felt like I was studying for an exam, trying to relax, trying better posture, inching towards a passing grade.
At that point I was stressing out over the damn thing and decided, screw this, I'm going for a run. I'm not being held hostage by fear. Ran about 3 miles outdoors, worked up a good sweat and, most important, didn't keel over with a heart attack. Cleaned up and relaxed for an hour, then took the stupid test again. 125 over 81. Normal range, and actually lower than average for my age (blood pressure typically creeps up with age).
Lessons learned: Blood pressure shifts radically with body position, time of day, diet, and of course state of mind. Spikes are normal throughout the day. What's important is the average over a few readings. Lower is better, and in fact the yardstick for optimal BP has been lowered to anything below 120/80. So my 125/81 would still be considered "Prehypertension", although many doctors are disputing the value of attaching that label to numbers that were considered fine until recently.
My other lesson is that while a certain level of denial is okay, running/exercising isn't a panacea. Earlier yesterday, before going nuts with the BP machine, I'd had home fries and had snacked on chips. Have to be a bit more aware of diet, despite my presumed good health. Most of you in this thread are a lot younger than me, but don't assume you can exercise your way past a lousy diet or genetics. Heart disease is often a cumulative effect of years of bad choices.
I think you were just stressed.
Take it when you've been calm and relaxed for a while. The 120/80 is probably closer to your normal.