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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / March 2005Blood Pressure
What's a decent BP for me..63, 5 foot 9 and about 200 lbs...and prostate out 5 weeks ago...Howie Howie......that is impossible to answer. Ideally, no higher than 120 over 80, but there are so many variables that it is impossible to answer. Why not go to your local pharmacy.....assuming that they have a free BP machine there....and take it every day for a week and then average it out. Men often unknowingly get the 'white coat syndrome' and their BP rises at the doctor's office. Then there are other factors in your case.....a tad overweight, just had major surgery, a bit stressed out.....and so on. Let us know what it does come in at. But my husband checks his once a week at our local pharmacy. Usually 130/80 and heart rate in the upper 50's.....which is extremely low. Normal is around 72. HTH.....Heather > What's a decent BP for me..63, 5 foot 9 and about 200 lbs...and > prostate out 5 weeks ago...Howie According to the American Heart Association, hypertension is defined in an adult as a systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher and/or a diastolic pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher. High normal is 130-139 systolic and 85-89 diastolic. Normal blood pressure is less than 130 systolic and less than 85 diastolic.  SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3bN0M0 Seminal Vesicle involvement, Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05 PSA .07 .05 .06 .05 non Illegitimi carborundum > What's a decent BP for me..63, 5 foot 9 and about 200 lbs...and > prostate out 5 weeks ago...Howie I did a 3 day average and came up with...148/85 pulse 82. Is doing it this way ok ?..which is better the new Digital cuff or the old fashing way with bulb and stethoscope?..With this old way..what do I listen for??? The 1st beat (Loud or Soft??) and the LAST beat (Loud or Soft ??? ) Get confused on this. I am 5 weeks post Robotic Surgery, 200 lbs, 63 years old, 5 foot 9..kinda stressed with having a sick wife and 2 Grandkids a nd a 36 year old Daughter that wont grow up...I eat well and exercise when I can...use to ride bike but cant now I guess for HOW LONG??? Prostate out Feb 1st... Howie 148/85 @ 82 => you need some good old aerobic exercise. 200# @ 5'9" => you need some weights to crank up the old metabolism. Food control alone is not a healthy way to control weight. I.P. >I did a 3 day average and came up with...148/85 pulse 82. Is doing it > this way ok ?..which is better the new Digital cuff or the old fashing [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > exercise when I can...use to ride bike but cant now I guess for HOW > LONG??? Prostate out Feb 1st... Howie > I did a 3 day average and came up with...148/85 pulse 82. Is doing it > this way ok ?..which is better the new Digital cuff or the old fashing [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > exercise when I can...use to ride bike but cant now I guess for HOW > LONG??? Prostate out Feb 1st... Howie You should let your doctor know all the readings, not just the average. Either method will work, but it is easier for non-professionals like us to use the digital meters rather than trying to listen for the characteristic sounds. My doctor has me bring in the meter so he can check its accuracy in comparison to his readings. When taking your blood pressure, it is important to sit or lie down and relax for at least five minutes if not more. If you take it over again, loosen the cuff and wait another five minutes. It is also very important the the cuff be at the same level as your heart. If it is lower, that will raise the measured blood pressure. Your heart is roughly where your armpit is. If you are sitting, you can rest your arm on a couple of pillows to raise it to the right level. If you are lying glat, it is easier since your arm will be at the right level anyway. Sometimes nurses or even doctors ignore the issue of the the level of the arm. They should hold your arm up so it is where it should be. In my case, I estimate that having my arm down while sitting can result in a systolic of 8 -10 units higher than would be the case with my arm level with my heart. You can also develop some "white coat" hypertension of your own. You may get very anxious about your blood pressure, and that by itself may raise it significantly whenever you take it. So try to relax, think about something else for five minutes, perhaps like watching a fairly dull TV program, and then take it. Blood pressure can also vary significantly throughout the day. It could range from below 120 to almost 140 in a normal person. If your blood pressure is consistently as high as 148/85, your doctor may decide to treat it with a low dose diuretic. But also try losing weight and cutting down on the amount of sodium in your diet. Leonard , I agree with all your comments, however, I have to comment on the "think something else" strategy. I had elevated BP for some time, only detected when I donated blood ( I NEVER went to the Dr.,prior to a required physical that ultimately led me down this path), the morning of my biopsy, my systolic was over 200, I don't recall the diastolic, the attending nurse told me to "think of something pleasant", how in the world is that possible under those conditions? Looking back, I must say that the discovery and subsequent treatment (lifestyle, diet and meds) has probably done as much, if not more to extend my life than the treatment for PCa. Tom > > I did a 3 day average and came up with...148/85 pulse 82. Is doing it > > this way ok ?..which is better the new Digital cuff or the old fashing [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > may decide to treat it with a low dose diuretic. But also try losing > weight and cutting down on the amount of sodium in your diet. > What's a decent BP for me..63, 5 foot 9 and about 200 lbs...and > prostate out 5 weeks ago...Howie It used to be that moderate high blood pressure was defined as systolic higher than 140 and diastolic higher than 90. Recently, some research has suggested that there may be increased danger for systolic blood pressure higher than 130, whatever the diastolic pressure. Also, there is no reason why older people's blood pressure should be higher, except that bad habits of a lifetime may catch up with you. Of course, it does take some time for high blood pressure to damage your body, so I guess in principle an older person has less time available for that to happen. But whether or not to treat you for high blood pressure is really a judgement that your doctor should make. Two things suggest themselves immediately. If you lose weight, your blood pressure will likely come down. My systolic pressure has approached 140 several times in my life and losing a lot of weight reduced it to normal or lower. Regular exercise can also help. Finally, a low sodium diet may help, although sodium is so omnipresent in the foods we eat these days that it is hard to maintain such a diet. You have to read every food label carefully. It is generally thought that keeping your sodium intake less than 1.5 grams (1500 mg) is a good idea if your blood pressure is a problem. If these measures are too difficult to maintain or they fail, there are a variety of drugs, each with its own side effects which can keep your blood pressure down. Diuretic pills which rid your body of excess water are the simplest and have the fewest side effects. I don't too much mind the idea of eventually dying of a heart attack. After all, I have to die of something. But I would rather avoid a stroke. Even a series of minstrokes can impair your ability to think. So I try to do everything I can to keep my blood pressure down. And diastolic becomes prehypertensive at 80 now, implicating a necessity for several steps to bring it down. But realize that the slightest stress, acute or chronic, raises BP very significantly. Mine has been historically checked at least dozen times a year for decades now (the military and VA check it every time we walk in, for example), so I got over any white coat syndrome decades ago, but it has been running high for months now because this PC crap is placing intense pressure on my time (and it's often not even my highest priority lately because of other projects going on). My usual BP is about 125/75 -- as low as 95/65 at the peak of my sports season -- but I "blew" a 154/85 two minutes after getting that first painful shot of Zoladex last month. I can walk briskly across a big parking lot and get a 125/75, but the slightest pain, even hours after it has largely subsided, and I'll hit more like140/80. That's why they always ask, "Are you in any pain?" How 'bout it, Howie -- are you under any stress lately? Anything hurt AT ALL on the days you've had your BP measured? I.P. >> What's a decent BP for me..63, 5 foot 9 and about 200 lbs...and >> prostate out 5 weeks ago...Howie [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > whether or not to treat you for high blood pressure is really a judgement > that your doctor should make. |
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