question about true readings

By bugsandc53 Friday, March 07, 2008

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I understand that a higher blood pressure (say, 135/80 and up) does more damage to blood vessels than the lower readings. My husband and I both, after sitting quietly, and taking it a few times (!) can get readings at home of about 125/75 or even lower to 110/70. The first reading after sitting down might be 137/80 or so. We both run around a lot at work (both 54) and when we check it then, it will always be higher, maybe even 140/85 or so, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Does that mean all day while we are running around, and the blood pressure is higher, we are damaging our blood vessels? What is the TRUE reading, the one while you are forcing it down while relaxing, or the one that we live will all day most of the time? Most people live running around doing things, so shouldn't that be the truer reading, over the one where people spend just a few minutes a day relaxing? I find this very confusing. Our doctor says it is silly to take a reading while relaxing, because few people live their lives that way. What is the answer here?

High blood pressure and sleep

Comments (7) | Add comment

Sue

3/10/08 9:14pm

Thanks so much for your post. I'm a moderator for the site and though not medically trained I will try to help you find the answers to your questions.

I searched our site and found a couple of places you might like to review. The first is Taking Blood Pressure, from our Q&A area. It does say sitting is better, but read through for the detailed explanation.

I also thought you might want to read High Blood Pressure Prevention and Treatment. It discusses lifestyle changes to improve blood pressure as well as other treatments.

Hope this helps - all the best, sue

bugsandc53

3/11/08 11:08am

Thanks Sue, for your reply. I will be researching it a lot more! Thanks for the links as well.

Norma

Geoffrey Guest

3/31/08 11:40am

Your concerns are exactly mine. I can get very low readings especially after my wife gives me a relaxing 20 minute foot massage but when I interrupt my daily activities to take my BP the first reading is typically a little over 140/70 . If I then relax for 5 0r so minutes I can bring down the reading to 128/68 or lower. I am going to ask several doctors about all this and will report back.

bugsandc53

3/31/08 1:53pm

Thanks Geoffrey, for responding to this. I think there is a lot of confusion out there over this--with doctors too (!). My guess at this point is if we CAN get it down by relaxing a few minutes, that is a good thing. ?? People with true hypertension issues perhaps couldn't even get it down while relaxing. Would love to hear more about this though, from others out there....can we all get it down while relaxing?? Are there some who can't?? I have been tracking my blood pressure for a couple of weeks and of course it follows the same pattern I mentioned. All the blood pressure monitors say to "relax for about 5 minutes or so" (I almost never do that :-) before taking it. When my doctor takes it, I am usually uncomfortably dangling off the end of the examination table, he is asking me questions and making me talk, and I am probably a little nervous and tired from walking there as it is. I hate to think so many people are being put on BP medicines, with the same scenerio.

Norma

Geoffrey Guest

3/31/08 5:02pm

Norma: I just spoke to an MD about this issue and this is what he had to say. The body of someone who has hypertension (ie persistently high BP) lacks the ability to achieve a low BP even when at rest ,massaged, relaxed etc. The fact that you can do so shows that you you dont have hypertension since when at rest and relaxed you are able to achieve the requisite BP. So by asking you to be at rest and relaxed when taking your BP , the MD is assessing your ability to achieve a low BP. Of course this does mean that you or your husband can always exercise this ability: as the day progresses you may suffer numerous insults to your body and mind which may raise your BP to unhealthy levels and potentially damaging levels. You should do what you can to avoid threatening, anxiety-provoking people and situations in order to keep your BP to the low levels which we know (because of the BP tests you took when at rest) you are physiologically capable of achieving.

Geoffrey

bugsandc53

3/31/08 5:53pm

Dear Geoffrey,

Welll, that is an excellent answer! Thank you so much. It will also be interesting to see who else might respond to this.

Much appreciated, Norma

Geoffrey Guest

3/31/08 10:28pm

Norma: Thank you for raising the issue so well in the first place. One thing I was also told ,this time by another MD*, is that if you have low BP (meaning that when your at rest and relaxed your BP is low) even if you are exposed to a lot of daily stress there will be many periods in a 24 hour day when your BP is low eg when you are asleep, when you are doing something calming etc. With hypertension, one's BP is Always high ,throughout the day and night, and that is why it is so damaging.

Geoffrey

* My family is crawling with doctors. Two of them happened to call today.

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