Hi I am om Amlodipine and about ayear ago decided to purchase a home monitor as I suffer from anxiety and BP was all ways higher at the gp's surgery. With the home monitoring systolic has gone between 137 and 123
and diastolic between 51 and 65 usually low sixties. Gp tells me that it is the bp med lowering both. How ever I have read that it is bad to have a low diastolic. Any one have this problem. Also Just recently my systolic has risen to the 140s diastolic is the same. I am wondering if this is a rise or a problem with the machine. Any advise. Will make an appointment with gp next week. I am 66 years of age.
My diastolic is usually in the mid 70s or 80s which is fine. The dr gets upset when it goes into the high 80's and 90s. I have had it as low as 47 on occasion and frequently in the 60s. I haven't heard that it is bad to have a low diastolic - why is that? I do know that on diagnosis of hypertension my diastolic was near to 100 and the dr was very worried at that. So although I can't answer your question I am most interested to know what others say.
I met someone who went round building sites and companies doing health checks. She said with BP it was the diastolic figure that she was most concerned about. If it was over 90 she told the person to see their GP. A previous GP I had also said that the diastolic is the more important figure.
In the mornings in particular my diastolic is often well over a hundred.
I recently gave a young registrar in cardiology a print out of my last two months readings and pointed out diastolics of up to 124.
" That's all right, that's not too high" she said.
She did not put that in her letter to my GP and misreported other things. I reported that to my GP who then wrote to her. I then got a 'one liner' from her saying that she had received a letter from my GP regarding my symptoms and would review them at my next appointment. If she is still there next time I will ask for someone else.
Hi Jane, Thanks for your message. I think the reason why doctors don't like too low diastolic is because of the difference between the 2 numbers. It is called pulse pressure I think.
I think in a normal reading it is around 40. Mine can be much more at times. This is a risk factor for heart disease/stroke if there is a gap more than 60. My gp did not seem concerned and said that the diastolic was being lowered by bp medication as well as systolic. This morning the first reading was 154/62 and a few minutes later after relaxing and doing some deep breathing it was 133/65. I do suffer from anxiety and find it hard to relax. At the surgery both figures are higher the diastolic in the 70s.
Yes pulse pressure is more important than the blood pressure reading, I have just been reading about this just recently.the difference is supposed to be no more than 40 between the two numbers. So if 120/80 is normal, that is a difference of sixty, well was when I went to school and numbers don.t change so whats going on ??
Though I cannot answer your question, I would advise you one thing in the light of my experience. Dont go for automatic BP monitors. My physician has advised stongly against using it. It can show misleading results. Go for a good steth and a dial type BP apparatus ( i would recommend Heine ). You can easily learn to use it from internet or even your GP can train you to use it.
Hi, Derek beat me to it, but I was also going to say that most surgeries and hospitals use automatic bp monitors these days. They may well have better versions than we at have at hone. I did show mine to my gp and my doctor said it was fine. Not sure if I am allowed to advertise the name on this forum but here goes it is a Pro Logic PL100 cost at my local chemist was £25.00.
It holds 90 readings in memory and warns of irregular heart rate and other things. If you take two or three readings in a ten minute period it works out the average for you.The software lets you upload your readngs into a spread sheet. Saves all the input I had to do with my earlier one.
They are about £130 but I got mine new and boxed on Ebay last summer for £47. It was sold by a doctor so I guess it was a sample he had been given.
Good evening Helen. I've never heard of this"BP Guideline" not saying it isn't true by any means. I have heard you should be cautious of having more than a10 mmhg reading of systolic and/ or diastolic in each arm. Hint of possible blockage? Lastly, I see where you've gotten a little confused, but ...the difference in BP using the method you read about comes out correctly. A perfect 120/80 is exactly 40, not the 60 your thinking .don't subtract the two, take the difference between sys. and dia. Your math needs brushing up lol. Take care (bet your chuckling now, and lowering BP too)
I just saw what you'd written after doing some 'surfing' on the net.
While I am not a physician, I do know a lot about blood pressure. What your doctor told you is very likely accurate..it's the meds lowering your bp.
What is one person's definition of too low a diastolic number, could be fine with another. You said that your systolic number (top) was reading 140's..& the diastolic was about the same. What exactly do you mean by 140's...what is right on 140 or a little above? Were you stressed at the time of the reading? This can cause your bp to rise. If that reading stays in the 140's for a few days without explanation, the best thing is to consult with your doctor.
Yes, bp can be higher in the doctor's office. It's called "White Coat Syndrome" & a lot of doctors take this into consideration. I"m extremely comfortable with my doctor, yet when I'm in his office, the bp is higher than it usually is, & he does take into consideration that I'm in his office, I've had the drive to his office (which is 1 1/2 hrs) however I keep track of the readings & give them to him.
I too have a bp machine that will take individua readings, & 3 consecutive readings. When I do the 'consecutive" I have the machine programmed to take the readings 1min. apart. Then, the machine will give me the average..which is the accurate number. Anything I've researched on this, says you should take a few readings..then average them out. BP changes from minute to minute. Oh how I've learned that leasson! Mayo Clinic also says it's fine to take readings 60 seconds or 1 minute apart. If I were to sit for 10 min taking readings, I'd be so stressed, I'm sure the numbers would be far too high.
I just saw what you'd written after doing some 'surfing' on the net.
While I am not a physician, I do know a lot about blood pressure. What your doctor told you is very likely accurate..it's the meds lowering your bp.
What is one person's definition of too low a diastolic number, could be fine with another. You said that your systolic number (top) was reading 140's..& the diastolic was about the same. What exactly do you mean by 140's...what is right on 140 or a little above? Were you stressed at the time of the reading? This can cause your bp to rise. If that reading stays in the 140's for a few days without explanation, the best thing is to consult with your doctor.
Yes, bp can be higher in the doctor's office. It's called "White Coat Syndrome" & a lot of doctors take this into consideration. I"m extremely comfortable with my doctor, yet when I'm in his office, the bp is higher than it usually is, & he does take into consideration that I'm in his office, I've had the drive to his office (which is 1 1/2 hrs) however I keep track of the readings & give them to him.
Hello Sorry I might have not worded my orginal post correctly at the time. Whilst my systolic pressure had been in 140s my diastolic the same I should have said stayed the same in the 60s. Having cleared that up now 1 year later I have moved house and of course gp. I have been taken off amlodipine because of severe ankle swelling. I am now take a bendroflurazide a water tablet. I also suffer white coat syndrome being a long time anxiety sufferer. My last reading at the gp was 140/70 and he was satisfied with this as he is aware of the white coat problem. I am taking readings at home having purchased a new bp monitor. The readings do seem higher on this monitor whether it was because the old one wasn't working correctly. My gp has told me to buy a new one every 12 months. The last few readings have ranged from 141/73 to 128/68. Todays was 132/70.
Hi Mike, I am a male in my seventies and I am very interested in this discussion because, prior to recently going on to 5mg per day of amlodipine, my BP averaged 170/70. This situation of a high systolic pressure and a low diastolic pressure is referred to as “isolated systolic hypertension” (ISH).
Recent home readings of my BP (after taking 5mg of amlodipine for 2 months) show that my BP (when lying down) has now dropped to an average of 141 / 58.
In a recent article about ISH on the “Mayoclinic” web site, it is suggested that, in people with ISH, BP treatment may lower diastolic pressure too much, potentially increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke and that your doctor may recommend that your diastolic pressure not be reduced to less than 70mm in trying to reach your targeted systolic pressure. Apparently, this is because it’s the diastolic blood pressure that supplies blood to the heart-feeding arteries and if it’s too low, you can get dizzy and fall over when standing up after being in bed or sitting in a chair.
So, my question is whether you would regard a BP of about 140/60 to be satisfactory for a man in his seventies, or would it be advisable to aim for an even lower systolic pressure of 120mm or 130mm? My concern in taking a second BP drug to help reduce the systolic pressure further is that it’s likely that my diastolic pressure could fall as low as 50mm. Do you think that a diastolic pressure of say 50mm or 55mm is too low for an elderly adult?
Hi Martin...Trying to understand bp can be very confusing. Years ago, the medical professin was concerned with the bottom number..then as years went by, they realised that it wasn't just the bottom number that mattered so much, it was the top one as well. Usually in elderly people, doctors don't increase bp medication very much especially if the patient is already on 3-4 medications for bp control. Increasing the medication could increase the side effects, making the patient's life a little miserable. 140/80 is ok here in Canada for an elderly patient. If I were you, I'd be very inclined to keep strict track of the readings...& report them to the doctor. My bp lately is averaging 128/64..or sometimes it is 134/65. Bear in mind, that I take a Beta Blocker along with some other bp controlling meds. I am not a doctor Martin, but will help you as best I can..but I do encourage you to discuss this matter with your doctor. After all he/she is the qualified one.
Thanks very much Mike for your helpful reply. Yes, it seems that systolic pressure is now regarded as more important than diastolic pressure. You mention that 140/80 is regarded as ok in Canada for an elderly patient and it’s great that your BP is well below that level.
If my BP was 140/80 then I would be quite happy to take a second drug to try and reduce it to say 120/70. But, a patient with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is likely to have a reading of 140/60 rather than 140/80 and some research has suggested that a diastolic pressure of 60mm is already too low!
I agree that it’s necessary to keep a strict track of readings done at home as a guide to my doctor and myself. At present, I am doing readings once a week and I think this is probably often enough to get a pattern of what is going on.
I think that some doctors are perhaps not as concerned as I am about a low diastolic pressure and I got some very good advice about ISH earlier this year in this thread:
nxmartin..do your self a big favour. Don't be doing so much research on the internet. You never know for sure if the site is accurate in what they're telling you.While the Mayo Clinic is one of the best medical centres in the world, what the guidelines are for various countries can be very different. The best person to get the information from is your doctor.
Take my advice...don't rely on the internet. How well I know. You can get yourself very wound up over nothing because of what you read. You can very easily misinterpret what is said. Who knows?..it may be possible to lower your Systolic bp without the Diastolic becoming lower than it is. A Diastolic reading of below 80 certainly is not anything to panic about.
You say you're checking your BP once per week. Why not try a few times..say Mon/Wed/Fri. Don't just settle for the 1st reading the machine gives you. Take at least 3 readings consecutively, then average them out. OR if you have a machine that takes 3 readings automatically, then gives you the average, that's even better..but in this case...take just 1 reading..throw it away because it's likely too high..then take the 3 readings automatically.
You could also take your readings 2x daily for the 3 times, e.g. take your reading Monday morning...then Monday afternoon...same for the other days.