I had my annual heath fair at work which includes a biometric screening. Today my blood pressure was 133/88 mmHg which places me in the “Borderline Risk” category. The cholesterol screening was good, although HDL was a little low (not fasted).
I’m a little concerned about the blood pressure result though. My first thoughts were I was fatigued from Spencer +2 yesterday and that I was psyching myself out for the needle pinch that followed, but the nurse took the BP again at the end of the visit and it was 133/85 mmHg, not much different. Could it just be fatigue? I plan on testing more frequently to monitor this, but I also don’t know if there is really an concern here. I read through the @Captain_Doughnutman threads and now I’m wondering if I should get a test done. Maybe I’m just overreacting too. I’m not looking for medical advice, just wanting to hear the other members’ experience.
During her pregnancy, my wife was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and the doctor asked us to buy a blood pressure gauge. It was quite cheap, about $40 or so. And we used iOS’s built-in Health app to log everything. If you are concerned, I’d get one of those and monitor your blood pressure over a longer period. In case it is still higher than it should be, you should consult with a doctor.
How often do you check your BP outside of the Dr. office? One BP reading (or two within a short time frame in this case) is virtually meaningless. Get a BP cuff and take readings at random times throughout the week. Frankly, I don’t find 133/88-85 particularly concerning even it were your true average. Yes, the guidelines on BP have been lowered in recent years and that reading would now be considered “borderline”, but IMO is still quite reasonable unless you have other significant risk factors.
I agree. I may stop at my local Walgreens more and get it checked but I was just worried after googling the issue. I do want to keep better track though.
You can get a blood pressure monitor on Amazon (or the drug store) for about $40. My doctor made me get one and monitor my BP for a month at home after reading like yours at my annual physical. Turns out my BP is great if i don’t go to the doctor . . . . .
I may get one. Kind of good practice anyway in a sport that stresses our hearts. I always feel more stressed at the doctor’s or at the office, so there’s that.
“white coat hypertension” (i.e. high BP when at the doctor) is real but you won’t know for sure unless you get multiple readings in different settings. The health fair nurse won’t do it but the 1st thing any doctor is going to recommend is getting a monitor and taking readings for a while then reviewing them.
I have the same problem at the dentist and doctor. I purchased the same Omron 10 upper arm (wrist ones tend to be less accurate) and monitor periodically. It’s worth it just for peace of mind if nothing else.
High blood pressure, there’s a reason its called the silent killer. Slowly destroys things like kidneys etc, does take many many years. Get it checked out, get it monitored over 24 hours and if medication required, use it. I’ve been on 5mg of Lisinopril per day for around 5 years. Now along with my regular workouts, resulting in loss of excess weight, my last health check had me at 120/82 with medication. Blood pressure of a 18 year old…Hopefully my kidneys will outlast the rest of me now!
Nice to know I’m the go-to source/poster boy for crappy health issues. At least I’m winning at something!
I believe that # is ‘high normal’ and may not be a problem with training. I’ve got ‘low normal’ resting BP but ‘Ding Dong, Death is Here’ level exercise BP.
As others have said, dr office BP is often recorded high, so check it at home. I’d also say check it on the bike too (“normal” SYS can be 160-200+); it can be a bit tricky and it won’t be precise, but all you’re after is a general snapshot to establish a trend.
Hey I have a BP wrist monitor. I have whitecoat they call it so I measured it with this everyday and logged it.
I then had to do a stress test and they determined I have some issue when I work out that my BP spikes high and stays there all the time when I am working out. I am not sure I believe the issue they say it is but no way to find out lol. They say I have a genetic issue that my capillaries or something when I work out so it goes to a high number (everyones goes up working out) but mine is pretty high apparently.
My stess test BP was also jumbo high @110bpm…sent the dr & nurse into panic mode.
But…I started taking on-bike readings and these are significantly lower than the treadmill readings (sometimes by 100 SYS!!). My VO2 interval BP, however, is still scary AF.
Of course. If I find anything during my next block I’ll definitely set up an appointment. Until then it’s just going to be data gathering… and hoping it stays lower than at the Dr.'s
I go to a cardiologist a few times a year. I am on some very low dose med and she did testing and she is good with it and said I can race and train.
When I did the stress test my BP went to like 210-220 / 170-180 or something but I don’t remember exactly. They didn’t stop the test and said my BP stayed there from 6 minutes in till the end or something.
Also be aware that blood pressure also cycles throughout the day. It is normally at its lowest about 2 hours before your normal waking time and peaks late afternoon/early evening.
A couple of years ago I was at the doctors and had the “I can’t let you leave without treatment you’re not far short of needing to go to hospital level of blood pressure”. Took 6 months to get it under control.
Yeah with what I take it is completely normal now. I only figured it out because I was getting HR spikes during races. I took a log in to my Dr and was like WHAT IS THIS CRAP? I can feel when this happens and I want to know why and how to stop it lol.
I take a super low does of antenolin and lisinopril and I have no side affects from it so far. Some get tired I guess taking BP meds I do not and that might be all because of the low dose.
Yeah I did at least 60 races last year so there is hope!
At least I’m winning at something!
