Cycling UK Forum

Late 50's, long term cyclist and ex long distance runner of 40 years doing about 500 miles a month. I'd say I'm very cycling fit, decent cardio can manage big hills with ease with an average heart rate of 120- 150 under stress. 54 and under at rest. Weight is under 14 stone, height 6 '2" never smoked, good diet but enjoy a beer or glass of two wine most evenings.

I have an Omron HR monitor and have on occasion monitored my BP which has remained at prehypertension level for many years.

I went to the doc two weeks back for a blood test and my BP was 155/90 ...I was asked to do the seven day monitoring and my average is AM 152/82 PM 147/83. Today for some reason I spiked at 177/95.

On a private level we've had a death in the family in Feb and I'm administrating the estate which is very stressful and not at all straightforward. We've also had a close family wedding which I was heavily involved in. Apart from that I'm retired young(ish) and am living the dream.

Is this medication territory - which naturally I don't want . I can't see how I could change my lifestyle much apart from giving up alcohol, could it be the death and underlying stress and will it revert to normal. Or could there be an underlying medical cause that has suddenly raised its head.

Has anyone had private issues that resulted in a semi permanent rise in BP ?

NHS overview for patients:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-bloo ... ertension/

That includes lifestyle changes and broad thresholds for treatment.

Jonathan

Thnks copied and pasted from NHS

You might be more at risk if you:

are overweight - No
eat too much salt and do not eat enough fruit and vegetables - No
do not do enough exercise - No
drink too much alcohol or coffee (or other caffeine-based drinks) ?
smoke - No
have a lot of stress - yes
are over 65 years old - no
have a relative with high blood pressure - no
are of black African or Black Caribbean descent - no
live in a deprived area -no

I'm suspecting short term stress but can't see a way of reducing it in the short term.

Any personal stories on here ?

My blood pressure recently rose for no apparent reason. From the usual 120-125/80 it gradually crept up to 160-170 and remained there for a few weeks. Went to see the GP - she was fairly relaxed about it but sent me for tests, all of which were negative. During the 7-day monitoring it steadily reduced to about 135 and today it's back to 120/80.

I still have no idea what caused it. I had none of the risk factors. I can only assume it was a response to some other underlying infection or virus. If I'd been under stress at the time that would maybe have explained it - I don't respond well to stress and in the past it's been the cause of various unpleasant conditions. I've learned to try and minimise stress in my life wherever possible and, when unavoidable, take measures to mitigate its effects - e.g. meditation.

Thanks for that toontra.

My morning readings today are back down to what I'd call normal for me 136/77 and 133/80 which is utterly bizarre given what happened yesterday. I'm starting to feel like a bit of a fraud but will keep monitoring. It could well be underlying stress, inheritance tax, probate the sale of a family members house, solicitors dragging their heals, looking after my sons dog, a wedding. trying to get a car with various issues through an MOT.

Like you I think I'm going to explore ways of trying to mitigate stress. I think they follow it up so would like to undergo some tests just to make sure there's no underlying medical issues.

ossie wrote: ↑22 Jul 2023, 9:44am ..
I think they follow it up so would like to undergo some tests just to make sure there's no underlying medical issues.

Please say if you'd like the current guidelines on investigations.

Jonathan

ossie wrote: ↑21 Jul 2023, 9:35pm ...
Any personal stories on here ?

Yes:
viewtopic.php?t=97703

But that thread includes some unusual views on measurement.

Jonathan

ossie wrote: ↑21 Jul 2023, 9:35pm Any personal stories on here ?

When my blood pressure started to edge upwards towards the top end of a healthy range, I did some research and upped my lycopene consumption. My blood pressure quickly came down.

Here's a link to an article from the National Library of Medicine on the subject.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3798929/

If you're short of time, scroll down to the 5.Conclusions

Last year I had a 24-hour BP holter that showed a systolic pressure of 155 mmHg while getting it fitted in the hospital, dropping to <130 mmHg once home and rising over 150 again when returning the gadget to its keepers. I treasure the graph that shows those results and mention it every time a medic takes my BP and starts getting all consequential about it.

As a matter of interest, last week I bought a new BP gadget. Sitting at my desk my BP was 125/70. Then I had a cappuccino with a double shot (home-made so around 120 mg of caffeine compared to ~90 mg in a penny-pinching café) and over the next half-hour it rose to 149/80.

If you've been keeping going on coffee you might expect something similar.

Thanks for the replies everyone which I've taken onboard. I'll book an appointment with my GP to cover all bases I think.

One thought. On a cycling front I may also be over compensating with my sodium intake to offset perspiration loss. With cycling in this summers heat (thankfully better in the last week or so) plus I'm on a turbo in the garage three times a week for hours at a time I may well be overdoing things with the salt intake. My fluid loss is massive, despite quaffing bottles to try and keep things balanced.

I had some BP issues a couple of years ago when 14st 8lbs at 6'1" and I thought I was reasonably fit. BP was 155/109 and I was getting breathless walking up stairs and hills. Turned out I had a DVT (not claiming any causal or other relationship). Anyhow, I lost a heap of weight 3 stones, BP has returned to 104/75 or thereabouts. DVT has cleared up with only very superficial scarring to the vein and I'm off the meds.

One thing that the doctor told me was to cut down on fruit (no more than 3 pieces a day) and I drink much less than before - perhaps twice a week instead of virtually everyday. One side effect is that a single glass of wine now has a significant effect on me whereas before it didn't touch the sides. I also now only have one cup of coffee a day as opposed to 2 or 3. Little changes that don't really effect you once you get used to it.

Another thing that I find helps with stress is yoga - there are plenty of free classes to do at home on youtube. An hour a few times a week really chills you out.

My BP measured sitting in the armchair at home last November:
Up and down like a yoyo, but the mean is 122.0

borisface wrote: ↑23 Jul 2023, 2:34pmOne thing that the doctor told me was to cut down on fruit (no more than 3 pieces a day)

That's unusual, the advice is normally to eat more. Why?

borisface wrote: ↑23 Jul 2023, 2:34pm One thing that the doctor told me was to cut down on fruit (no more than 3 pieces a day)

Out of curiosity, did he give a reason for cutting down on the fruit ?

Sorry, didn't notice that axel_knutt had asked the same question.

Cutting down on fruit - Yes, the reason was that it's full of sugar. I should clarify slightly though. I live in rural Portugal where everyone (including me) grows an absolute abundance of fruit all year round, so people here tend to eat a lot more fruit as a basic part of their diet than in the UK for example because it's free and available. At times, you honestly can't give it away.

There's fruit and fruit, though. When I did a re-ed course after being stented I learned that 3 grapes or cherries are the sugar equivalent of half a kilo of strawberries.