anyone know anything about blood pressure? i'm confused

Post Reply New Topic

let me start by saying that normally my blood pressure is normal, it's usually around 100/60 or under, which could be considered low but i'm a rower and athletes generally have lower blood pressure.

anyways, i'm on stimulant medication for adhd, this is expected to increase my heart rate and blood pressure. i recently participated in a psychological study that involved taking blood pressure measurements and i was confused by the results. my heart rate was higher than normal, as expected, and my systolic blood pressure was higher than normal (130-140, high-normal range for blood pressure) which was also expected, but my diastolic blood pressure was still down at 60. i figured both would increase but only one did... anyone else confused by this?

I think you should ask your Dr or your pharmacist to explain this to you.

I hope someone else on the forum can answer your question but I think your best bet is someone who knows what med it is and what (if any) other ailments you have. (You said you were taking part in a psychological study so I'm guessing you have other issues. It/they may affect the effects of your med on your BP).

I looked systolic BP + ritalin (the only adhd drug I could think of) on MedScape.com, and it mentioned some supplements like ginseng, natural licorice and yohimbine can affect BP, so you should probably tell your Dr if you take any supplements (or other over-the-counter medications).

Good luck!

Beef it maybe you have good circulation and when the heart pumps blond though your body it just goes faster. That sounds like a good thing.

the stress of testing might mean your rate went up. I've been told that 110/70 is very good, so they're both a touch low, but I doubt you have that much to worry about. You blood pressure can also change over time, with added weight, etc.

See a doctor if you're still unconvinced, they're the experts.

A higher systolic is not as much as a concern as a higher diastolic.
If your diastolic reading is cosistently high it is considered pathological.
But as it remained in a healthy range, therefore you are healthy.

So, I am presuming the higher systolic reading was a reaction to the medication, but your diastolic range did not change as your circulatory system remains healthy.

What medication are you taking?

I don't know anything about this but I work in a hospital so I can ask around for you if you like.

I had been working as a professional personal trainer for a few years, and routinely give blood pressure tests for my clients. So here's what I'd learned from my ACE course, and how I explain about blood pressure to my clients.

Systolic pressure regularly goes up and down. Systolic pressure is a measure of your ARTERIAL blood pressure, and thus is highly affected by exercise and/or stimulants such as caffiene because this causes the heart rate to go up, which increases blood flow, which increases the pressure exerted in your arteries. Because of the arterial walls' thickness, arteries are relatively 'stiff' and pressure is naturally higher than in veins.

On the other hand, diastolic pressure is a measure of your VEINAL blood pressure. As this blood pressure comes directly from blood output by the organs (which is why blood moves slower in veins, and veins need valves to prevent backflow of blood), they should not be affected by stimulants, and is relatively stable. Hence diastolic is taken as the measure of your overall blood pressure. In addition, as veins are by nature elastic, they can easily accomodate higher blood pressure and dialate (grow wider) in response to higher pressure. If diastolic pressure is high, it could mean (a) your veins have lost their elasticity, and/or (b) there is a buildup of plaque in the veins that prevents blood from flowing smoothly, resulting in higher pressure. Both (a) and (b) are symptoms of arteriosclerosis, and have to be checked out by a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

So beef_bourito (cool username, by the way), you don't have to worry. As long as your diastolic doesn't go above 70, you're safe 60 is a bit on the low side, though, unless your heart rate is low as well, which would indicate a strong heart. What is your resting heart rate, by the way?

thanks for the response, i did some looking around online and talked to my sister (a nurse) about it and got some pretty good explanations too.
my resting heart rate is usually under 60 when i'm off medication. it's usually around 55 but i've seen it as low as 48bpm.

Dude, I salute you. *kowtows* That's an AWESOME amount of bpm. David Beckham has around 35, I think.

I'll NEVER reach that level Too lazy

lace armstrong's hr is 32, it takes almost two seconds per heartbeat!

Who else could win the Tour de France as many times as he did?

But have you heard/read about his diet? The guy eats a TON! (Okay, I know that I average about 2000kcals a day myself, a lot for someone who's 5'2" and barely 130 pounds, but still...)

i haven't read about his specifically but i know how much a lot of elite athletes have to eat. you usually won't see an elite rower eating less than 7,000Cal/day, Michael Phelps eats around 12,000. I don't eat nearly enough at the moment. i'm not losing a lot of weight but i know i'm not eating enough, so my body's probably slowing its metabolism to compensate for the lack of calories.

Awesome explanation emorah. I knew systolic tended to be more variable than diastolic, but I didn't know why. You really know your stuff.