blood pressure - systolic vs diastolic

[Behemoth]

Okay, I'm on cycle as some of you probably know. I've been monitoring my blood pressure and it has gone up a bit - no surprise there. But what is strange to me is that it is only the systolic that is going up. Systolic is the top number. My diastolic is still the same.
For instance, today I just checked it and it was 156/70. Normally when I am not on cycle, it is in the 120s/70s, though the diastolic is sometimes in the 60s. Is this something to be worried about? All the reading I've done suggests that doctors seem to think only the diastolic number matters.

So what's a high systolic but low diastolic mean? Anyone know? Any links to good information I can read about this? I am not very knowledgeable about blood pressure yet.

 

[GymLift]

The simple answer is that yes, it matters.

"High blood pressure is defined as having a systolic blood pressure of 140mm Hg or higher (top number) and/or diastolic pressure (bottom number of 90mmHg or higher for most people. When the systolic pressure is 140 mm Hg or higher, but the diastolic pressure remains below 90 mm Hg, the condition is known as isolated systolic hypertension."
(Reference to this and more).

"Physicians have traditionally focused on treating high blood pressure by trying to lower the diastolic pressure to keep it at 90 or slightly lower. Nathan Wong noted that many physicians are satisfied when the minimum goal of 140 systolic and 90 diastolic is reached. However, he feels the minimum goal is not the optimal goal. "The optimal goal is systolic pressure below 120 and diastolic below 80.""

 

[GymLift]

The thing about high blood pressure going up during a cycle is that during a cycle is pretty much the worst time to have high blood pressure since a combination of the high BP and the gear together is more likely to lead to an enlarged heart, which is a bad thing.

I'm taking an ACE inhibitor. I seem to have zero side effects, but my BP is down. Nice.

 

[bigdaddy22]

Mrank, I remember that you were having problems with your bp. So your Doc decided to go with an ACEi? Well I am glad to see that you are being taken care of and the situation is under control.

 

[GymLift]

Mrank, I remember that you were having problems with your bp. So your Doc decided to go with an ACEi? Well I am glad to see that you are being taken care of and the situation is under control.

I went in there all ready to make an argument for an ACE inhibitor rather than the other options. My physician said that he probably would have prescribed me Lisinopril (the same drug I was asking for, in particular) even if I hadn't said anything.

I suppose that maybe a diuretic would have been a better first line treatment, although my father went through a ton of different BP meds (probably diuretics and beta blockers) before finally settling on Lisinopril.

BTW: Thanks again for your help. Something of note: my BP actually seems to be more "consistent" now with the meds.

 

[marqui77]

Okay, I'm on cycle as some of you probably know. I've been monitoring my blood pressure and it has gone up a bit - no surprise there. But what is strange to me is that it is only the systolic that is going up. Systolic is the top number. My diastolic is still the same.
For instance, today I just checked it and it was 156/70. Normally when I am not on cycle, it is in the 120s/70s, though the diastolic is sometimes in the 60s. Is this something to be worried about? All the reading I've done suggests that doctors seem to think only the diastolic number matters.

So what's a high systolic but low diastolic mean? Anyone know? Any links to good information I can read about this? I am not very knowledgeable about blood pressure yet.

High systole means that your heart is contracting very hard to pump the blood through your circ system, which means more stress on your heart, arteries, and so on, and your diastolic pressure is your heart at rest.

 

[poof]

maximus's regime to lower bp:

Calcium 1500 daily
Magnesium 800-1200 per day
Potassium 300mg three times daily
CoQ10 100-200mg daily
Cod liver oil 3 tsp daily or caps up to 10 per day.

also effective

hawthorne berry
arginine

 

[Behemoth]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to keep monitoring it. My systolic has mostly been around 130 during this cycle, so I suppose this could be an isolated incident, but I'm going to keep checking it just to be sure.

The cuff on the machine at the place I go to might be too small for my arm as well, since it sometimes leaves marks on my arm. The machine says arms over 13 inches may screw up the reading... so I'm probably going to buy my own, which will be a benefit since I can check it more often throughout the day.

 

[GymLift]

The cuff on the machine at the place I go to might be too small for my arm as well, since it sometimes leaves marks on my arm. The machine says arms over 13 inches may screw up the reading... so I'm probably going to buy my own, which will be a benefit since I can check it more often throughout the day.

Yep.

 

[Ponderosa]

some may think it's funny, maybe a product of living in asia/orient. i meditate once in a blue moon. not to get all relaxed and shit, cuz i'm never relaxed. very type A. instead, i try to freak out my heart - try to control it, like a muscle. i got the idea from that girl who deep dives. through mental control of her heart, she can lower her heart rate to something like 15 beats per minute. sure as shit, over time i've gotten better...but i can usually only do this for about a couple minutes, then i lose interest.

anyway, i do this little bit a lot when i get my BP checked. the other day, right after walking about a mile to get to the doctor, i had my BP checked. it's normally high. through "meditation", it was only like 100/42!!! no shit. the nurse thought i was dying, and made me go lay down, even though i felt fine. she thought i should be dead. i immediately called a doc friend who assured me it was temporary. 5 min later i asked to have it checked again. this time without meditating, it was 120/72.

the heart is a muscle. work it.

 

[bigdaddy22]

I went in there all ready to make an argument for an ACE inhibitor rather than the other options. My physician said that he probably would have prescribed me Lisinopril (the same drug I was asking for, in particular) even if I hadn't said anything.

I suppose that maybe a diuretic would have been a better first line treatment, although my father went through a ton of different BP meds (probably diuretics and beta blockers) before finally settling on Lisinopril.

BTW: Thanks again for your help. Something of note: my BP actually seems to be more "consistent" now with the meds.

Hey if your doc is willing to give you an ACEi or an ARB as a first drug, good for him. They really are the best drugs out there for high bp as well as renal protection. It is an educated patient that makes their wishes heard that get the best treatment many times. I am glad to hear that things are going well.