blood pressure

Hi my name is Stan, I'm a 17 year old male, I weigh 235 lbs and I am 6' 2". I just had my blood pressure taken yesterday, three times while at the doctors and each reading varied around 1 or 2 mmHg but they where right around 120 over 55. It seemed somewhat odd to me but the nurse who took it didn't mention anything about it.
I'm wondering if this is just normal or if I should have this checked out further.

Hi Stan

I agree with Elisha about your diastolic BP being a tad low, and your systolic being perfect. However this is a very strange reading in that you have what is called "high pulse pressure". Here is a blurb from the American Heart Association:

"Pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic and the diastolic readings. It appears to be an indicator of stiffness and inflammation in the blood-vessel walls. The greater the difference between systolic and diastolic numbers, the stiffer and more injured the vessels are thought to be. Although not yet used by doctors to determine treatment, evidence suggests that it may prove to be a strong predictor of heart problems, particularly in older adults. Some studies suggest that in people over 45 years old, every 10 mm Hg increase in pulse pressure increases the risk for stroke rises by 11%, cardiovascular disease by 10%, and overall mortality by 16%. (In younger adults the risks are even higher.)" End of quote.

Your diastolic pressure (55) that was measured that day in the office is really too low. I would drop by a pharmacy and have it checked again. Check it at the machines in the "X-marts" as often as you can for awhile.

Here is the problem with low diastolic pressure; this pressure occurs when your heart muscles relax after they have contracted. During this time, blood flows into your coronary arteries and on into the heart muscles. If this pressure is too low, then the flow of blood into your heart muscles is also low.

Your BP readings on that day could have been an anomaly, or a bad instrument out of calibration. Keep a check on it and let us know how your BP trends :)

Rj

P.S. I also read that thickening of the carotid arterial wall can cause a high pulse pressure.

  

Post Edited (Aldo) : 7/24/2006 8:36:37 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Sarah

100/55 is much better than 120/55. Your pulse pressure is 45. Stan's pp is 65. I believe that high pp starts around 45 or 50. My pp is around 35, which is normal.

Diastolic pressure less than 60 mmhg is considered low in most of the medical literature that I have read. Normal BP is 120/80 in theory I guess. I wouldn't worry if I were you unless you are experiencing some kind of symptom associated with hypOtension. For instance if your systolic pressure was too low, you might feel faint when you suddenly stand (your brain receives the most blood when your heart contracts).

I do not know any symptoms of low diastolic pressure other than over a long period of time (years), your heart may cause symptoms involved with not being supplied enough blood. This is just a wild guess on my part and is totally theoretical!

We are talking about resting BP here. When you just stand, the BP increases by 10-15 mmhg in normal people. This doesn't happen in people with postural hypotension, and they sometimes faint. When you exercise, your BP goes even higher. Your bodies O2 demand increases so our heart rate and force of contraction increase along with our BP.

If your doc is not worried about your BP, if I were you, I wouldn't either :)

Rj

 hey Aldo, i just got off the treadmill after 30 mins. my heart rate was about 111 fo most of that. i went up immediately to check my bp and heart rate and it was 116/66 heart rate 94. Eo you think my bp stayed so low because i take lisinopril, just 5mg, and is that good or bad? i know you are not a doc, just wondered what you think

 It is so hot here in the seattle area. we do not usually suffer the heat so bad

 aldo, i cannot beleive you got your heart rate up to 145, the best i can do is 120 and that is usually a bit higher than i can go. i do have a monitor on my treadmill and i stay in the 69% of my target heart rate for most of that time. i do a 3.5 pace on a level two incline.  how does that stack up with your numbers. maybe you do not use a treadmill.  thanks in any event for your input.