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I would say it is how "you" feel and how it affects your body. As each of us are different. some people can have sky high BP and not be bothered and others a lower BP and are bothered by it.
This is a common misconception and why for years hypertension has been called the "silent killer"
You don't "feel" hypertensive, you may feel "hypotensive"
The damage caused by hypertension isn't going to give you any odd sensations or feelings until you have that first massive heart attack or stroke....then its too late.
For one thing, most doctors' offices I've visited do not take BP properly.
They take it immediately after weighing you and having you move around and answer a few questions.
BP should be taken after you've been sitting for 15 minutes without outside stimulii. At least, that's what I've read.
So the method of taking BP could be contributing to a rash of "high" readings.
A good common sense answer as i'm sure on one hand that the allopathic's want more people to take high blood pressure meds and on the other side of the coin is that high blood pressure is not something to take lightly whether doctors want you to take meds or not as heart enlargement and cerebral aneurysm are strong consequences if left unchecked.
Those of us who've been in the muscle and fitness industry over the years know that vigorious exercise and a ''clean'' diet will work wonders for this as you don't need medicines or tons of supplements either except for genetic or extreme cases.
The other thing that we know in the fitness industry is ppl who use steroids regularly and often a side effect is they get high blood pressure on high doses of steroids. High BP over a prolonged period of time leads to an enlarged left ventricle. In a steroid or drug users case its not a good thing.
Often natural athletes also experience an enlarged heart as a response to the increased workrate. Its benign in nature most of the time assuming you are otherwise healthy
The other thing that we know in the fitness industry is ppl who use steroids regularly and often a side effect is they get high blood pressure on high doses of steroids. High BP over a prolonged period of time leads to an enlarged left ventricle. In a steroid or drug users case its not a good thing.
Often natural athletes also experience an enlarged heart as a response to the increased workrate. Its benign in nature most of the time assuming you are otherwise healthy
So true as i just talked about this on another thread about guys on steroids and wanting to get huge at all cost although most of us are natural as we care about health and longevity.
As for an enlarged heart that is not a concern for me as i'm not overweight and my deit is clean compared to these ex NFL players who weigh 300 LB's in their 40's, 50's and 60's who are being ravaged with diabete's and cardiovascular problems etc.
Just look at Jack Lalanne whi is STILL a bodybuilder at 96 as i assume his heart is just fine.
I thnik that phycal condition;genes and lifetyle play a role.Bascailly I have know peole who igneaored sign like ears ringing and had real problems from it eventually.I myself never had problems until 60 same as my dad.
Do you think the 'normal' range of readings for blood pressure keeps getting lowered because of new medical findings or because pharma companies can sell more blood pressure lowering medications when the normal range is lowered??For example, a few years back, a reading of 139/89 was considered 'high normal' now this same reading has been reclassified as 'pre-hypertensive'--which sounds scary.
I read that our blood pressure readings naturally rise as one ages, but it seems the health care providers are saying we should all have the same blood pressure range whether we're 20 or 80...that sounds strange to me, logically...Would love to hear your thoughts, especially and health care professionals...
No, I don't think that the normal range for blood pressure readings keeps getting lowered. A good doctor will figure out what is "low normal" or "high normal" for you and go by that. I am older and have been on blood pressure medication fo probably the last 10 years or so. Mine started with really bad headaches and when I went to the doctor, mine was off the charts high. I thought I was having sinus headaches...go figure! My doctor worked real hard to get mine down with medication. It is still at times all over the place but no where near as bad as it was. Sometimes a persons blood pressure will go up just from being in the doctors office. While at home, mine is normally 106/70 and when I go into my doctors office for an exam, it soars up to 140/70 on medication. Doctors are concerned about the lower number for the most part...top one too, but it is the lower one that is the "killer" and should never go any higher than 90 during times of stress.
You can't go by what health care providers, i.e., your medical insurance folks say is normal..they are not qualified medical doctors and neither is anyone else on here so I suggest that you speak to your doctor about this. I am sure you are probably going to get told something totally different than what your health insurance provider says so trust your doctor!
The definition of normal blood pressure has definitely been lowered.
From Blood Pressure Simplified from 1917.....
"NORMAL BLOOD-PRESSURE
The normal systolic pressure in adults ranges from 105 to 145 mm. In children over two years of age from 85 to 110 mm. In females the pressure is about 10 mm. less than in males.
The normal diastolic pressure ranges from 25 to 50 mm. below the systolic pressure.
A normal pulse pressure ranges from 25 to 50 mm.
A systolic pressure below 100, or above 150, and a pulse pressure below 25 or above 50 mm. may be regarded as abnormal. A diastolic pressure of 105 or over is almost always pathological."
145/125 would therefore have been in the normal range.
That information about BP from 1917 is really interesting--I wonder if their heart attack/stroke incidences were higher or lower than ours per capita?
I also wonder if our blood pressure meds and lower desired 'normal' ranges for blood pressure these days has lowered our heart or stroke incidents? I thought I read somewhere that we were still having more of these incidents than previously, but cannot find the source...
Seems to me that lowering our BP to certain numbers makes sense if it has a positive outcome, but if it doesn't, then I'm not sure why we should want to do it...some of the BP meds make us more vulnerable to diabetes I've heard, my Dr. said the diuretics tend to do this...so there are negatives associated with some of these meds that impact our health, too.
At 54 with historically low blood pressure (105/60), not overweight, smoker, no family history of it, I developed high blood pressure last Fall. First symptom was fatigue, went to the Dr. and pegged at 220/140. Returned the next week, after monitoring at work with no real change, and was put on medication. My diet was not a high blood pressure diet so not much to change there, am walking more. A few days after starting the meds I felt immediately better.
220/140!!!!!!!! - You were not given any additional work-up - not even a renal (kidney) evaluation!!!!
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Blood Pressure readings
