Hi Austin and Jordan,
I’m curious about the best way to track and optimize my blood pressure. I’m familiar with the standard guideline of “less than 120/80”, but I’m not too clear on the details. I have two major questions:
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Does the 120/80 guideline refer to my blood pressure when I take it in a relaxed state first thing in the morning, or to my blood pressure when I’m at the doctor’s office after work (presumably higher than the first one), or to my average blood pressure over the day? If (hypothetically) my blood pressure is 120/80 when I wake up, but it’s elevated all day due to stress at work, is that a problem?
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Is there a benefit to lowering blood pressure below 120/80? Aside from concerns about fainting and such, is lower generally better?
Thanks for all your help!
The blood pressure guideline refers more to an “average” BP over 24 hours. If it’s normal when you wake up, or normal at your doctors office, but high the rest of the time, that needs to be addressed.
There are data suggesting that each point increase over 110-115 systolic starts to increase cardiovascular risk, but no one should be treating a normal blood pressure to get down lower for that reason.
Interesting; thank you for the clarification.
Do you have any advice on the best way to track my blood pressure by myself? If I confirm that my blood pressure is some amount (five points?) below 120/80, does that give me enough “buffer” to assume that the average is good? If that sort of extrapolation is unwise, is there a minimum number of daily data points you would suggest, or some key times of day to take readings to produce a better overall picture?
What is your sex, age, height, and weight? Have you ever had an abnormal blood pressure measurement before? Do you have any chronic medical problems? Do you have a doctor?
If you have never had an abnormal blood pressure measurement before, and don’t have additional risk factors for hypertension or complications thereof, then I would not recommend aggressive blood pressure monitoring at home (same reason, for example, that I don’t have people without diabetes check their blood sugars every day). You could just get your routine checks when you see your doctor, for example.
Male, 30, 5’11", ~195lbs. I have hypothyroidism, which I am treating under the care of an endocrinologist. I also have environment allergies and depression/anxiety, but I’m not under any doctor’s direct care for those.
I’ve had a few high blood pressure readings over the last year or two, up to 140/80 at least once. Currently, I take my blood pressure about once a week, first thing in the morning, and it is typically around 120/80. However, I often have a fairly high stress level during the day, and my stress management techniques are not the best, so I could definitely believe that my average blood pressure over the course of the day is significantly higher than when I wake up.
If you have concerns about this, the best way to put them to rest is to ask your doctor for a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring study.
Interesting; I will look into that possibility. Thank you for your advice!