Blood Pressure Control

TexasFlyer

Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
Wow,
I just went to my 6 month dental exam. My blood pressure been a little high in the past, running anywhere from 128/85 to 140/90. After my cleaning the hygienist took my blood pressure and it was 150/98!!! And I was pretty relaxed just chatting with her after the exam. So here is the question.

Some basic lifestyle facts to help answer:
* I'm 6'2''.
* 200 pounds, plus or minus 5 throughout the year.
* Have a family history of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
* I tend to eat decent, but not perfect (I eat grilled chicken half my meals usually, but the other half tend to vary from fast food to ribeye steaks).
* My eating schedule is sporadic since sometimes it's hard to break away from working, but I still get two meals in at some point through the day/night.
* Since I am so busy with work and flying and studying, I tend to eat out every meal. But I do order grilled chicken like I said half the time, with the other times being items ranging from pizza and pasta to steak and burgers.
* I hate to work out, so I have not in about 2 years.

At this point, I'd like to just get down to 140/85 or so naturally as a happy starting point (although my goal will be 130/80 if it's even possible to set a goal on something that may be so hard to change). I hate medication and want to avoid the hassles that come with being on meds and all the FAA stuff that comes with medical certification once you get on meds.

How can I get this back under control?

Thanks!

PS - I plan to force myself to:
* start working out (running at least 30 minutes 4 days a week)
* start ordering grilled salmon and tuna and sushi more often, cutting burgers, pizza, and steaks down to only a couple times a week (unless I need to eliminate completely as I will do what it takes)
* Biggest problem, I am not home often at all so eating out is my only option for the most part, but I assume ordering the right foods and decent places will help greatly.
* Is this a good enough start? What else can I possibly do? Now the stress of knowing how high my blood pressure was is probably making is worse :banghead:
 
Try reducing salt. Reducing or eliminating alcohol may help.

I can't do either of these things, so it looks like I'll be on meds at some point. :)

Google the DASH diet. It is supposed to bring down BP without medication.
 
Read this book: 'Eat Right for Your Type,' by Peter J. D'Adamo. It's about eating foods that are compatible with your blood type. Follow it reasonably closely and you'll not only become super-healthy, you'll lose weight and probably live a lot longer.

There's also info about blood-type diets on the net.

Other important tips: Eat five times a day, but eat smaller meals (speeds up metabolism).
Eat a good, low-fat breakfast (oatmeal with fruit, nuts, etc.)
Jogging is too boring for me, cycling is more fun and easier on the body.

Ultimately, as you grow older you must change your diet to match your slowing metabolism. For most Americans, continuing to eat the same fatty, high-sugar foods in middle age that they ate in their youth is a sure ticket to heart disease, obesity and an early death.

Pilots, due to the high-stress, sedentary nature of their jobs must take particular care of their health/diet, etc.
 
Start with getting your blood pressure checked correctly. Sit comfortably for 10 minutes beforwe the pressure is taken, wait 10 minutes and retake the blood pressure, do this one more time. Then repeat this on 3 different days. Average all the numbers before you determine you have high blood pressure.

If it is still high, then look at lifestyle changes which include diet, exercise weight loss and stress reduction. Try this for 6 months. If it is still up after this, then see the doc and get on some medications.
 
I know these are not as accurate as the blood pressure at the doctors, but I bought a home Reli-On Blood PRessure test, an automatic one. I figure if it's accurate within 5 points, it'll at least give me an idea of where I am on this blood pressure thing.

So I relaxed for an hour after I woke up and did not eat anything. Took my blood pressure on the Reli-On and it said 132/80 at 54 bpm. Then I did a quick quick work and about 30 minutes after my work out it said 166/73 at 68bpm.

So here is the question. Did I hate my dentist so much that my blood pressure was through the roof? Or is the home test so inaccurate it's not even a good estimate within even 5 points or so of reality?

Just curious sicne at this point I'm guessing I probably don't have too much to be freaking out about, even though I already have a freezer now full of Tuna and Salmon to grill up and also have been eating lunch every day at a seafood restaurant where they grill up salmon, tuna, and rainbow trout to my satisfaction.

Thanks doc!
 
My father has one of those. His cardiologist told him they are pretty accurate and a good thing for him to have because of his heart attacks. I would tend to believe the cardiologist. Sounds like you got the BP under control. Maybe you were just having a bad day or reaction to the dentist and drills and such.
 
I have one of those reli-on monitors and it's been pretty accurate, it reads the same as the zolls we use at work, anyway.
I dropped the cardizem I was on, started eating a little better, dropped the caffeine and started doing cardio and my BP has been a bit better. Same stuff anyone tells you to do. Good luck
 
Does your dentist normally take your BP?? I go at least twice a year for the last 30 years and as many dentists as I've been to in a half dozen different states, I've never seen any of them take BPs...

Just curious!

J
 
Does your dentist normally take your BP?? I go at least twice a year for the last 30 years and as many dentists as I've been to in a half dozen different states, I've never seen any of them take BPs...

Just curious!

J

Yep. The hygienist always takes my blood pressure. They are real thorough at this dentist (best one I ever had). They go through my medical history and everything with me every time I go in. It's almost like a doctor visit with all the questions they ask.

Oh, and my blood pressure seems good. I been taking it at random times each day. I seen it as low as 112/68 in the morning and as high as 148/96 on fluctuations after I get done working my recruiting business for a few hours. But more than half the time it's between 120/80 and 130/85 when relaxing and not eating anything for a few hours before taking it. So it appears, I just really hate my dentist.

Maybe I should have taken it after the police department called me and just denied me my airport badge due to a misdemeanor and felony arrest I have on my record that's in the FBI fingerprint files (Hope they give me a copy of this for myself). The officer said it has no disposition associated with them in my FBI file so these things look like open cases (ouch!!!). One was dismissed immediately and the felony one was pleaded down to misdemeanor trespassing and then given a disposition of "no guilt due to first offender and circumstance" on my court paperwork. So now I have to go to the airport police on Tuesday and show them my disposition paperwork, which should solve the issue according to the officer.

I bet my blood pressure shot up to like 220/110 or something like it when I was on the phone with the officer dealing with that situation. My mothers blood pressure readings are in this neighborhood according to her!!!

Ugh. Just thinking about that situation and how it'll affect me for life... I better go check my blood pressure again!
 
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