Guys I need your input on blood pressure. I don’t want to mess up

[SonnyCrockett]

I hate talking about something not exciting but I really value your opinions. The real
World advice on here is worth the wait and gold. I just don’t want to do the wrong thing. I don’t like taking medication unless I absolutely have to but if I need to in this case I will so I can live longer. I went to the doctor and they wanted to put me on blood pressure medicine so I asked him if I could check it at home for a couple weeks and come back and I did and this is pretty much what I come back with. My top number which I think is called systolic is usually 130 to 132. So they’re saying it’s a form of hypertension where the top number is high, but the bottom number is normal. When I’m looking at my lower number, though it doesn’t seem too high and I’m afraid if I start blood pressure medication, I won’t have any energy or the light because my blood pressure may be too low, especially on the bottom number or the diastolic number I think it’s called. I’m 46 6”4 and 195 lbs. Thank you all for taking the time to read and share your thoughts. Hope you’re all doing well.

 

[SonnyCrockett]

Age is 44. My big fingers hit the wrong button. In case the picture isn’t clear reading is 131/64. Pulse 64

 

[mck71]

I was about your age when I took a health screening and the results came back as pre-hypertensive. I took the results to my Dr and asked him what I needed to do. His response was that they could put me on meds OR I could start eating better and walking. So I chose moderate exercise and tried to eat a little better. My numbers came back in line with what they needed to be and I do not take BP meds. I actually did take a few different low dose BP meds in my late 40’s to combat migraines but they made me dizzy and weak feeling. Now I just put up with the headaches and make sure I eat as well as I can and exercise 3-4 days a week. It’s absolutely amazing what hitting the gym and doing cardio will do for you if you aren’t already doing it.
Edit to add that I’m 53, 6’-2” and about 215.

 

[Marble]

I would get a second opinion. Those are not bad at all. Mine has been higher than that for the last decade and none of my doctors have worried about it. I've been to probably 5 or 6 different facilities.

And you may or may not feel even feel a difference from the medication. Being worried about it in general will probably make you react more than the meds...chill out, get a second opinion. Maybe a cardiologist?

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[gbflyer]

Man I wouldn’t take medication for that. Looks like you aren’t overweight. If you drink, drink less, and try to manage stress.

Opinion from someone in the same boat as you.

 

[Grundy53]

I'm on BP meds. Mine was like yours, high top number low bottom number. As soon as I started on the meds I felt way better and actually had more energy. Your blood pressure isn't what gives you energy. If anything high blood pressure robs your energy. Are you having any symptoms? Like dizziness or headaches? I was suffering from both. Also, high blood pressure can make you very irritable... my family says I'm much nicer now that I've got my BP under control.

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[RaggedHunter]

Something to try..

I have high blood pressure, have had it since I was in my early 20's. A few years back I was consistently running 150's-160's over high 90's-low 100's... Dr. put me on metoprolol and that brought me down into the high 120's/low 130's over high 80's.. I was on that medication for about a year and a half. I am a pretty healthy guy I am in my early 30's, I workout regularly, eat pretty good. Dr. said my blood pressure was just genetic.

About 8 months ago I was listening to a talk with Gary Brecka. He was talking about young healthy people who have high blood pressure. He gave a big explanation for this with a lot of words I can't pronounce (you can youtube his talk.) But my takeaway was BP meds are punishing a healthy organ, rather than fixing a deficiency, he recommended a supplement called TMG (trimethylglycine) it is an amino acid, you can order it off Amazon, its like $6 for a bottle.

I figured what the hell, I'll give it a shot. I can always go back on my BP meds if it doesn't work. Long story short, I have been taking TMG for 8 months with no BP meds, and my BP has never been better. I check it regularly, and at my annual checkup earlier this week the nurse got 120/72. I am consistently in that range now. Dr. was impressed, said keep doing whatever you are doing.

It's worth a shot if you don't want to get on BP meds.

 

[waspocrew]

That’s really not that bad at all. I’ve had patients come in walking around with systolic BPs of almost 200. That is not good haha.

If you’re not super active, make some lifestyle changes.

 

[Marbles]

BP management depends an several things. In general, targeting below 130/80 is the recommendation, this is based on a large study that showed the old target of less that 140/80 left a lot of potential benefit on the table. Relative risk increase between people managed at less than 140 and those managed at less than 120 was something like a 23% increase in cardiovascular mortality and a 38% increase in heart failure for those in the 140 group while the study ran.

Notice, the study looked at 120, not the recommended 130. The medical community felt 120 being the threshold would put too many people on meds and tht splitting the difference at 130 was a good compromise, some additional benefits, but less risk of causing harm through over treatment.

Now, you have several choices

- As most people I see talk about lifestyle changes, but never implemente them, I generally advise to start the med, and implement lifestyle changes (diet, exercise) and if the number starts going down we can back down/stop the med.

-Do nothing and ignore it (not advised).

-Make lifestyle changes only (yours is only slightly above goal, which supports this choice). Preferably, set clear goals and thresholds with a timeline that if not met, you start meds.

If you start a med and it makes you feel bad, then we are not doing you any favors. So, giving it a trail is all that is really being done with starting it. If it makes you feel bad, pay attention to you BP at those times. The question is does the lower BP make you feel bad, or is it just you don't get along with that med.

There are three categories of meds that should be used forst in most cases as they do the best at the achieving the goal of being healthier and living longer. These are:
-ACEi/ARB (I personally prefer ARBs over ACEi and as these tend to have the fewest side effects are usually my first choice)
-thyazide type diuretics (most people don't like peeing more)
-dihydropyridine CCBs (these are more likely to cause erectile dysfunction in men)

When you check BP at home make sure it is a good resting BP (sitting for at least 5 minutes), take it 2-3 times in a row and either average all 3, or throw out the first reading if it is significantly higher. On most people, one arm will be higher than the other, you want to use the higher arm as this is a better representation of the pressure your organs are exposed to.

In a person that is not sick, so long as it is not high, the bottom number is usually meaningless. How you feel is far more valuable for saying if your MAP and perfusion pressure are too low than the numbers themselves. In a person who is really sick, that story changes.

I know that is long, but it is a condensed overview that leaves out a lot of details and rabbit holes.

Good luck.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I'd cut off part of a finger for those #s. F that Dr. I am NOT a medical professional. My wife IS.....we talk BP all the time.


F that Dr. Even 130 top number is really not that bad.

We have a handful of MDs that chime in here. I don't wanna give misinformation. But the top number kinda reflects how elastic your arteries are.

Hit the treadmill for 45 min and take a BP when you're done and cooled down. You'll see a huge change. Only temporary, but I believe just getting "some blood moving" and getting a bit more fit really help.

I went scorched earth and stopped beers for 45 days. Zero sweets. About a 80% Carnivore diet with healthy fats. Crushed cardio and slower, longer mid heart rate. Saw a drastic change in my BP. Cortisols and stress also F with your numbers drastically.

But overall....when the Dr tells you "Lose some weight and fix your diet" is generally better than most meds you can do.

We've all become super soft

 

[Jmoore]

I had similar issues a few years back. I was having killer headaches and just didn't feel good. I went to the Dr. and I was coming in around 145/95 and my cholesterol was off the charts too. I got on meds for a few years and 2016 lost my brother to a stroke at 42. This was an eye opener for me so I made some eating changes mainly by cutting salt, sugar and as much processed food as I could. In 2017 I went back to the doc and had dropped 90# and all meds were stopped. I'm 48 now 6' 200 and feel great.
Point being, in your case, you don't seem to be over weight and I'd imagine you could tweak your diet to get the bp down a little.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Man I wouldn’t take medication for that. Looks like you aren’t overweight. If you drink, drink less, and try to manage stress.

Opinion from someone in the same boat as you.

I was going to mention drinking. I’ve dialed my drinking back to about 5-10% of what it once was and the blood pressure has been great ever since. In fact it improved within a few weeks of just switching to light/moderate drinking once every week or 2.

 

[Silver Wings]

Something to try..

I have high blood pressure, have had it since I was in my early 20's. A few years back I was consistently running 150's-160's over high 90's-low 100's... Dr. put me on metoprolol and that brought me down into the high 120's/low 130's over high 80's.. I was on that medication for about a year and a half. I am a pretty healthy guy I am in my early 30's, I workout regularly, eat pretty good. Dr. said my blood pressure was just genetic.

About 8 months ago I was listening to a talk with Gary Brecka. He was talking about young healthy people who have high blood pressure. He gave a big explanation for this with a lot of words I can't pronounce (you can youtube his talk.) But my takeaway was BP meds are punishing a healthy organ, rather than fixing a deficiency, he recommended a supplement called TMG (trimethylglycine) it is an amino acid, you can order it off Amazon, its like $6 for a bottle.

I figured what the hell, I'll give it a shot. I can always go back on my BP meds if it doesn't work. Long story short, I have been taking TMG for 8 months with no BP meds, and my BP has never been better. I check it regularly, and at my annual checkup earlier this week the nurse got 120/72. I am consistently in that range now. Dr. was impressed, said keep doing whatever you are doing.

It's worth a shot if you don't want to get on BP meds.

That is really interesting. I’ve never heard of this approach to hypertension. I’m going to do some reading on it.

My BP began creeping up in my 40s even though I was active and not overweight. When it got into the 140s/90s I started a med called Benicar. It worked to get my BP down but about 6 months after I started my gut began giving me big problems. Took another 9 months and finally seeing a commercial on tv that started out…If you’ve been injured by Benicar…for me and the 4 doctors I’d consulted to figure out what the problem was.
Went about a year without any meds trying to heal my gut, which I did with diet change. By then my BP was 150s/90s. After doing what I could do with diet and exercise I broke down and started Lisinopril 10mg/day. It works and I can’t detect any side effects as of yet.
All this to say…
Your BP is not bad yet.
Do what you are willing to do via diet/exercise to see if you can move it down.
Base your next move off of that.
BP meds have different mechanisms of action. Do some reading and educate yourself. If you decide that you have to go the med route at least you can have an intelligent conversation with your PCP as to which one is right for you.
Good luck

 

[Hnthrdr]

I would also encourage those seemingly healthy folks really anyone to get checked for sleep apnea. SA is really a silent heart killer. Basically every time you have an apneaic moment while sleeping it is sending your heart into overdrive, it is responsible for a lot HBP and eventually A-fib. Definitely want to try to head that off as soon as possible, I am 34 and wear a oral device that puts my jaw in the correct position to help with my mild SA I will eventually get a cpap if I need one. Just another thing to think about, diet exercise and sleep are probably the most important factors for staying healthy

 

[Z Barebow]

Similar BP circumstances. I am not going on prescriptions unless it is serious. I am in my late 50's. I donate plasma twice a week. (Hunting isn't cheap!) But it allows me to keep tabs on my vitals. (I donate after work.)

My numbers (on a good day are high 120's/low 130's over low 80's. A time or 2 a month, I might be 150 something over 90 something.

I am healthy 5' 8 164 and work out 3-5 times a week. (Running, gym cardio and some body weight stuff) My diet is decent, but not eating kale or tofu. No hard liquor and beer or 3 a month. My issue is work. (High stress job) I can literally feel the stress by the end of the day.

I started taking my BP at home. (Same machine you have) I take my BP in AM, before I get ready for my day. My top number is always 10-15 pts lower than at plasma center.

I talked to my doc about it. He was not worried. Per my lifestyle, until my numbers settle in above 150, keep doing what I am doing.

 

[Gman12]

I was recently in the same boat but mine was significantly higher, dangerously high. I started taking medication about 3 months ago and it dropped it right back to within the normal range (thankfully), I don't think your numbers seem very high to me. Do you get much exercise? That may lower your blood pressure to a degree since you are not overweight.

 

[Z Barebow]

I would also encourage those seemingly healthy folks really anyone to get checked for sleep apnea. SA is really a silent heart killer. Basically every time you have an apneaic moment while sleeping it is sending your heart into overdrive, it is responsible for a lot HBP and eventually A-fib. Definitely want to try to head that off as soon as possible, I am 34 and wear a oral device that puts my jaw in the correct position to help with my mild SA I will eventually get a cpap if I need one. Just another thing to think about, diet exercise and sleep are probably the most important factors for staying healthy

Did that too! (Had a sleep study in May) Contrary to my wife's opinion, they said I am fine! (No apnea)

 

[5MilesBack]

A doc from my past tried to put me on BP meds several years ago. I tried four different meds and told him I didn't like any of them because of the side effects so rejected meds and moved on. My BP was only like 135/75. Then I was talking to an older guy that had really high BP like 195/110 and I asked him how much the meds actually dropped his BP. It wasn't much. Even on meds he was still WAY higher than where I was. So I figured if there's people with much higher BP's even on meds, I wasn't going to worry about my low numbers. I also discovered that giraffes have the highest blood pressure of any mammal, so figured that it made sense that tall people might also have higher pressures. So I ignore it all these days.

 

[saskhunter]

The only online medical advice worth taking it that if you're unsure about something, get a second opinion from a real doctor.

 

[Watrdawg]

Just took my BP and it came in at 123/72. I'm 60 and in great shape. However, I'm on 25mg of Losartan. I do watch my diet pretty strictly and rarely drink. Before going on the Meds my BP was in the high 140's over mid 90's. I had 2 stints put in when I was 50. No history of high BP or Cholesterol. I've never been over weight and always in the gym and in very good shape. My Doc wants me on the Losartan because of prior heart disease. So far I'm happy with the results. I'm rarely tired or feel like I have no energy. So, at least for now I'm going to stick with the Meds.