How to really lower your blood pressure without medication?

[Bill McIntyre]

Bill, those are just crude rules-of-thumb.

I was aware of that. The only way to find out for sure what your max rate is to bust your ass, and that takes will power. But at least I was pleased to see that my max was roughly in the normal range for my age. BTW, I've tried to push it to the max on a stationary bicycle and couldn't get it nearly as high, but I've read that is typical. Your max rate will vary depending on the activity.

Re. resting heart rate. A family friend in the US was very healthy but had chronically low resting heart rate (40 like you) & low blood pressure.

In my case, I don't think I had a naturally low rate. The first time that I can recall getting an EKG was in my early 20s when I took a physical to apply to Navy Flight school, and I think my rate was around 72. At that time I was mostly a weight lifter, and never ran farther than forced to by a football coach. But in my mid-30s I started distance running, and my rate steadily dropped. At age 41 I got tibial stress fractures and had to quit running long distances, but I switched to cycling.

Of course at age 74 I just can't tolerate the work load that I used to, so I'm surprised that my rate hasn't increased very much.

I've had several surgeries under a general anesthetic, and I always make a point of warning everyone that they shouldn't think I'm dying on them because my heart rate is low.

 

[sai]

Contrary to high blood pressure a low heart-rate or blood pressure is like a life insurance and nothing to worry about at all as long as you don't feel dizzy or have any other symptoms that are affecting you in your daily life. My aunt usually has 95/60 and she's totally fine with it.
On the other hand you're also likely to experience nothing unsual at all if you have high blood pressure and that's the bad part about it and why it's called "the silent killer".
Especially when doing sports like weight lifting or freediving you should keep an eye on that, because of the high blood pressure spikes that occur in both sports.

 

[Corey32]

There are some remedies for that and i have tried it that really works an moderated amount of garlic and ginger is very good fort that purpose.
You should try that and should eat that on daily basis,That will thin your blood.

 

[sai]

Sport seems to do the trick for me. I do sport 5-6 times a week. After that I have optimal blood pressure for the rest of the day. On a day without sports I tend to be high in the high-normal zone.
I guess I have a pretty active sympathic nervous system.

 

[Steinar]

Have you got your own blood preassure monitor sai? I have been worried about my blood preassure for some time because the meassures at my doctor are around 170/95. I got my monitor today and Im very happy to meassure 114/80. For me it was the white coat syndrome.

 

[Steinar]

And by the way. Dont let the doc put you on medication. If you really have hypertension you must find out why and fix it.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

And by the way. Dont let the doc put you on medication. If you really have hypertension you must find out why and fix it.

I don't agree. You can't fix heredity, and that is a factor in hypertension. My wife's father had hypertension and eventually died due to strokes. My wife and both of her brothers are hypertensive, and all of them are on medication. My wife has been on medication for about 40 years. She is 5'-5" and weighs 108 pounds and has a very good diet and is an exercise nut. She used to run marathons up into her 40s. At age 71 she lifts weights, run/walks, rides a spinner bike, and uses a rowing machine.

One of her brothers is lean as a whippet, barely eats meat, doesn't drink alcohol, and runs well for his age. Her other brother may be very slightly overweight, but he also runs and doesn't drink. They both require medication to control their blood pressure.

If you can suggest some change in their lifestyles or diets so that they could go off medication, I'd like to hear it.

Edit- here is just one reference.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2587105/

And this one says that while exercise certainly helps,

Having a parent with high blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors for developing the condition yourself. Previous research suggests that having a parent with high blood pressure may account for about 35% to 65% of the variability of blood pressure levels.

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120514/fitness-fights-high-blood-pressure-genes

 

[Steinar]

What I meant was that he should make an effort to try to find out about it. Some doctors are a little to keen when it comes to giving out medication. Sai is 26 and it would be a pitty if he has to take medicine the rest of his life. Im not saying it can`t be a genetic problem in the family.

Im not a doctor, but I think that many think that the more exercise equals more health effect. I believe that all exercise is stressfull and having sufficient time to recover is essensial. I also think that there is no health resons for not eating meat. All indigenous people prefer meat if they can get it.

 

[growingupninja]

This is probably more relevant to some younger divers who are in extremely low risk categories (low body fat, regular exercise, great diet) for heart disease but who always come in high on the blood pressure: Consistent, regular apnea--however you get it, whether spearing, pool training, whatever--leads to increased red blood cells, and you can easily be above 'normal' levels, even for athletes. In blood testing this is usually reflected in your hematocrit level, which is basically a measure of the proportion of solids (red blood cells) in your blood, which will have a direct correlation to blood viscosity, which in turn has a direct link to blood pressure.

So, if you are a trained, regular freediver who's in good shape but who regularly comes in high normal or pre-hypertensive on blood pressure, don't forget to consider your hematocrit.

 

[Denny]

I started pool training about a month ago. I am 62 years old, have been active my entire life, and have always had low BP. Now it fluctuates between 130 and 160 systolic, dystolic is still around 80. Is an initial spike in PB common when one is just beginning to train?

 

[Kars]

Yes a big jump in pb is normal for beginners. Welcome to DB!

 

[Denny]

Thanks Kars. I was hoping that was the case. I guess I can stop freaking out.

 

[sai]

Never heard of that. Can you explain, Kars?

 

[DafyddRees]

I think Kars read "PB" as personal best

Denny, when do you take your blood pressure measurements? Before/after exercise and how long after? Have you only just started taking your BP regularly or do you think the increase has happened since starting training? Lots of different variables come in to play.

Sai, your case looks like a classic case of "white coat hypertension". Antihypertensives are really safe but should not be first choice in a fit, active, healthy young man. There is no wonder food either for lowering your bp, just a well balanced diet and good lifestyle choices.

 

[Denny]

I think Kars read "PB" as personal best

Denny, when do you take your blood pressure measurements? Before/after exercise and how long after? Have you only just started taking your BP regularly or do you think the increase has happened since starting training? Lots of different variables come in to play.

Sai, your case looks like a classic case of "white coat hypertension". Antihypertensives are really safe but should not be first choice in a fit, active, healthy young man. There is no wonder food either for lowering your bp, just a well balanced diet and good lifestyle choices.

 

[Denny]

I have been taking it a couple of times a day to get an average. It hit 161 last week, a bit alarming. Yesterday after my pool session it read 99/77....go figure. I usually come in below 120/80. Never saw much over 130 before I started training. I teach yoga and do pranayama regularly.

 

[DafyddRees]

A normal physiological response could mean your BP is between 150-190 during/just after exercise matey. If it returns to normal and stays normal between exercise it is indicative of good cardiac health. Your diastolic won't change much with exercise if you are healthy.

Just think, during exercise your body needs more oxygen so your heart increases its output to satisfy the demands of your body. The result of this increased output against normal vascular resistance is to increase pressure i.e. a high systolic. If you search for "exercise stress test" I am sure there will be baseline readings of what is found under normal conditions.

It does not sound like you have any other systems such as pain, dizziness etc?

Disclaimer: I am still a medical student. If you are worried mate or have any other symptoms, don't hesitate to pop to the doctors even if it is just for piece of mind.

Hope this helps a little

Edit - This link is written about Exerice stress test, the normal readings are a little different to what I personally think but it does provide a good explanation. http://www.newhealthguide.org/Blood-Pressure-During-Exercise.html

 

[Denny]

Thanks Daf

Some of the high readings had been in the morning before my workout. But lately numbers seem to be going back to where they were before I started training. It might have been just my body adjusting to my new workout. Tough fit from yoga, I wasn't in very good cardio shape.

 

[Dean Jenkins]

Uncertain about precisely what you are seeking, before using any medicine or herbs you need to consult with a physician. To learn more or even to educate yourself you can go through some great sites like EverydayHealth etc ... also you can get a free e-book on blood pressure here http://www.lowbloodpressuretreatment.com

 

[Julian Chapman]

Regular cardio definitely helps, the more you do, the lower your BP.

A diet of all raw plant food will greatly lower your BP (raw fruits, raw vegetables, nuts, oils, seeds), but this diet is very complicated and even dangerous if you don't know what you are doing.

Raw onions, and garlic prepared certain ways, can greatly lower BP.

Naturally formed nitrates from certain vegetables lower your BP. The most famous experiment is to drink 500ml of raw beet juice every day. This will significantly lower BP and proven in studies to do so.

Increasing the potassium in your diet can help. Dates are very high in potassium. I used to blend dates with coconut milk; the drink greatly reduced my BP, almost dangerously so.