I was diagnosed with a heart murmur just under a year ago, could this be a cause of my BP being so high? I am active pretty much everyday doing atleast 2-4 hours of exercise a day and eat a reasonable diet.
Hi James. Welcome to the site I am a relative newcomer myself and I am sure that you will get lots of suggestions/support from others on this forum. From my limited knowledge of bp readings I would say that your systolic is ok'ish but your diastolic is low. I assume you believe that a systolic of 140 is high, but if you saw mine a few months ago you'd have had a fit!! You are young and able to do far more exercise that me (I've got 40 years on you) but I found that exercise and diet are so important to regularlise bp.
You will get more advice, I'm sure, from all the great people on this site.
This is a perfectly normal reading 140/90 and under is fine according to my doctor!!!
For his age it is high with the difference between between the systolic and diastolic more than it should be.
A murmur seems to to usually put up BP and most people with murmurs only have them found by chance.
Isn't 60 a bit low Helen? Certainly its a number that my monitor has never seen! Ha ha. I think James needs to just take a few daily readings and get the averages. I'm sure he will be assured then.
wonder how low the bottom number can go and still be ok I seem to remember my doc saying 100/60 low and 140/90 high ???
Hi James, I also have a heart murmur and high blood pressure but no-one has ever mentioned to me that they are related.
I don't know where you get the impression from that your blood pressure is "so high". 140/60 is considered normal, although certainly people of your young age do usually have a lower systolic (top) reading.
It sounds as though you have a healthy lifestyle diet-wise and exercise-wise, so unless you are experiencing any other symptoms, then it seems you have little reason to worry. Importantly, if you do feel concerned about anything, then don't hesitate to check with your Dr.
Good point Helen. I get a bit confused with how drs interpret readings. My GP told me to aim for 150/90 , both of which seemed too high to me? Maybe she was hoping to keep me on drugs forever? Today my reading was 120/81 having had quite a few much higher ones last week when I enjoyed myself too much at the dinner table!! Now back "on course"! I think James should gather a weeks worth of readings and see what they average out at?
If we had been checking our BP at his age it would probably have been under 120 as it should be at that age.
From Blood Pressure UK web site:
"Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80). This is the ideal blood pressure for people wishing to have good health. At this level, we have a much lower risk of heart disease or stroke.
If your blood pressure is optimal, this is great news. By following our healthy living advice, you will be able to keep it this way.
If your blood pressure is above 120/80mmHg, you will need to lower it.
Most adults in the UK have blood pressure readings in the range from 120 over 80 (120/80) to 140 over 90 (140/90). If your blood pressure is within this range, you should be taking steps to bring it down or to stop it rising any further"
It does seem to me that there are "inconsistencies" in the medical profession regarding what is and what isn't an "acceptable" reading. I shall ask my GP why she thinks 150/90 is perfectly OK as I don't think it is. I think it is too high.
Yes they vary so much, hope you get a decent explanation from your gp about your readings 160/100 was ok until a few years ago, they want us all on meds and statins if over 50 years old and then they lowered the range to 140/90 it is a worry especially if you have health anxiety like I do ..
Be interesting to hear her response.