Blood Pressure/General Health Question

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I am 18 and have been noticing that at least for the pat few months, I've had unusually high blood pressure whenever I've had it taken (twice in the pat 2 mos.) (once at school & once at a store w/ a blood pressure reader in it). I had one reading of 120/110 and 144/94 (I know its pretty or really high) (The 1st # is systolic pressure & the 2nd is diastolic if you were wondering).
My mom says this is bad and I need to calm down or I am really going to have issues. She thinks it is mainly due to stress (which I agree with).
The thing is I exercise at least every other day to every day (at home & gym class) on a bike for about 3.2 miles at a time in 20 min. or a strength-upper body workout of bar dips w/ a chair, push-ups, stretching, sit-ups, crunches & weights (5 lbs.).
Also, I think my diet is OK, not nearly enough veggies & a few fruits regularly. I eat some kind of dessert (cookies, ice cream, etc.) everyday b/c not only do I like it, but my parents (both moms) believe I am anorexic . I am about 5'4" and weigh approximately 125-127 lbs. aka, I am thin but cannot be anorexic !
Any advice & does anyone think Aspies, Auties, & or general people on the Autism Spectrum may have unusually high blood pressure? Does this sound "normal" at least by Autistic health standards to do w/ health ? I need a response to give my parents so they get off my back. I know they're concerned, but...tired of getting one more thing to be paranoid over.

sorry about the typos I don't always see them all, not a good editor at all.

*past, etc.

Your blood pressure DOES sound bad. The systolic isn't that great, and the diastolic is REAL high! And what is your pulse like? Slower is generally better. It really shouldn't be over the mid 60s, and probably should be closer to 50. Of course, that is RESTING.

Your weight seems FINE!! !! !

Based on the fact that your weight is DEAD CENTER of a medium frame, ESPECIALLY considering that THEY think you are anorexic, your diet is probably fine. Either you have a LARGE frame, and are VERY thin, and could gain 10 pounds or so, or you have a lot of muscle, and probably should still gain a few pounds of fat(because you ARE female). If the later is the case, then your periods are probably irregular.

You might want to see a doctor, because your systolic could maybe be a bit lower, and diastolic should be closer to like half of that. ALSO, your pulse should probably be pretty low with the exercise you do.

Thanks to whoever answered. But I should add my body fat is at 20 + % & my periods are pretty regular (for now, but if they are irregular it could be genetics b/c my mother used to have really irregular periods). I do not get why its just my blood pressure though ? I see no reason for it, plus I take no meds, just a vitamin & an herbal supplement (can't hurt me). Plus I have a thin frame (I have only one section of my body that looks like it has fat on it, curse my hips/butt!) I don't care if it sounds bad. But my strength exercise regimen is slow for me (b/c I have coordination issues) so I don't work my heart to hard more than three days a week at the most. I'm confused!

Last edited by Peko on 28 Mar 2009, 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

High blood pressure can be an early sign of illness. If you can, go to a doctor to get your blood and urine checked. Better safe than sorry.

20% fat(ESPECIALLY for a female) isn't bad. SOME herbal supplements CAN hurt. A thin frame actually would make you a bit OVERweight but, like I said, that isn't unreasonable. One website says 17-22% is considered LEAN, and I think the BARE minimum for a female is 11%.

You probably shouldn't work your heart too hard for more than 3 days a week. People DO suggest that you drive your pulse past a certain point for a certain amount of time. And the idea is to make your heart more efficient, so it can do the work with LESS effort. As for your hips and butt, those ARE a good storage area. Maybe you couuld try to lose a little fat. Work out just a BIT more. If you lost like 4 pounds of FAT, it would still be safe, may make you feel a bit more better, and if it IS on your hips and butt, MAYBE it would even things out enough that people won't say you look anorexic. They may simply think that your hips and all are thin, and the rest looks that much thinner. BTW even cutting back on snacks might help you lose that small amount of weight.

In any event, see a doctor. Tell him/her your concerns. You NEVER know what it is, but it may be some simple thing, and probably wouldn't cost much.

I'm not a doctor or a medical student, but when I went for a check up at the GP and during an ER visit, I had my pressure get as high as 120/90 or 130/110, whereas it is usual for me to have BP of about 110/70 or even 100/60 (5'10" and 155-160 lbs). Neither the GP nor the ER doctors/nurses seemed concerned, though the 144 seems a bit high, and of course weight and height and such would factor in. (My parents sometimes got concerned about me getting anorexic but when they saw me visit then they saw me and it's pretty obvious from my stomach and thighs that I'm not.)

Maybe salt intake? My salt intake is fairly low. Most sodium in people's diets comes from packaged foods rather than table salt added to food. Then of course there's relaxing to try to deal with stress. The main thing about stress that gets me, is when I am in the middle of being stressed out and do not stop to identify it. If it's hard to identify when stress is becoming too much until it's too late, then it is hard to employ techniques to deal with the stress.