blood pressure

I was at family today and I tested my blood pressure with my grans machine, twice. Both times I got similar figures. 160 over 104. This is high right? Should I be worried? Do you guys reckon I should see a doctor? I'm just scared it causes problems in the future

Yella dude 104 you could have a heart attack on the spot... Like I said dude, you need to watch steroid doses and have time off or you going to have a heart attack like me, stuck on BP meds and enlarged heart and damaged kidneys, they all work together.. Go see a doctor ASAP.

I feel fine though bro, only thing is when it gets really hot I become extremely annoyed and my head itches. Could too much salt also be a contributing factor?

I'll phone my niece and hear when I can get an appointment.
Heart attack? Hell didn't think it was that serious!

High BP is the silent killer, I had a heart attack on 200 over 100, the 200 was bad but the issue was the 100. I wrote a BP article somewhere on the forum. Salt can play a small roll but not to that point.. Ye I used to get that, when hot, get itchy and angry... Mine turned into urticaria, by constantly running high without knowing.. Itching started going down my shoulders, arms, back, even legs... Yella used to make me mal! But end of the day that 104 is your resting heart rate, which is not good at all, at your age must be around 80. I have gotten mine down to 65 now.

Ill make a plan to see a doc tomorrow, will post what his findings are. Maybe I did it wrong or there is some other explanation

Below is a copy and paste of that thread i wrote... Na, you can't test it wrong to get that... Maybe there is another reason... Guess we will see tomorrow, however most of the time they don't understand why..

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Let me first explain to you what blood pressure is, the measurement of blood pressure consists of two numbers, the top number (systolic) which measures the pressure when your heart is contracting and the bottom number (diastolic) which is the more important reading as this measures pressure when your heart is at rest. The measurement used to measure these readings is mmHG (millimeters of mercury).

So is hypertensions dangerous, well yes but I will tell you something in a minute that has taken me so much research and countless chats to nephrologists, neurologists and physician specialists. For the average person if your blood pressure is over 140/90 you have hypertension. And is stated that every 10 points increase is your diastolic (bottom number) above 76 doubles your risk of heart disease. A healthy reading would be that of 120/80.

Also noted there is a “condition” called white coat syndrome, which is simply you start to freak out when you in the presence of a doctor and you get anxious (anxiety is a big cause for raising the systolic reading). This is why it’s important to get a 24 hour ambulated reading for accurate results. But having high blood pressure is not something to play around with, when on a steroid cycle monitor your blood pressure regularly and pay great concern on the bottom number not being over 90.

Blood pressure works by the beat of your heart, think of this as a pump and you have your arteries as pipes. You have muscle cells surrounding your arteries which constrict and relax them, inflammation and furring up (narrowing) are the two main reasons for high blood pressure. What causes the muscle cells tension is due to a balance of electrolytes (electrically charged minerals) inside and outside of your cells. Sodium / potassium and calcium / magnesium pairing each other, so the higher your sodium levels the less potassium in your cells the greater the tension, which in essence causes a raise in BP (blood pressure). In the same way more calcium inside your cells would mean less magnesium which once again raises your blood pressure.

So why do steroids cause high blood pressure, one simply being lack of estrogen control. High and prolonged circulation of estrogen levels can cause a number of severs side affects what I won’t talk about in this article but focus on high blood pressure which can cause negative effects on your heart. The elevation of aldosterone affects our body’s water table by altering what I spoke of earlier, electrolyte which would then favor our worst enemy sodium. Hence, as you would have guessed the increase in your blood pressure.

So what to do? Control the estrogen, try not to let yourself ‘bloat’ up, even though this is a nice way to add (mass) to your frame it’s highly dangerous and the long term effects could be detrimental to your health or in worst cases death.

Let me explain the 3 aspects of the body that work greatly together in this example, the heart, kidneys and blood pressure, any strain to any 1 of these 3 elements can cause damage to others, e.g: If you have heart disease this can cause an issue with the how your heart pumps, this will raise blood pressure which would then in essence damage your kidneys. And if you have kidney damage which could lead to high blood pressure that puts strain on the heart.

Now I said in the start of this article that there is some good news that took me allot of time to learn which many doctors never told me and had me worrying for far too long. If you look at bodybuilders that have been in the game for quite some time and live healthy lives it is know that they have larger healthier heart (athletes heart) that the normal Tom, Dick or Harry. And due to the mass that some bodybuilders carry it’s very possible the top reading (systolic pressure) could be safely measured at 150 all the way up to 180 and still be in a safe field due to the extra mass they require the heart to pump that much harder to get blood throughout all their tissue in the body. However! If your bottom number is close to the 100 meter mark you have some serious problems and need to get this under control as soon as possible, a way of doing this would be to control your estrogen levels and would probably be advised to take a diuretic to get rid of some of the excess water.

Below is a list of blood pressure drugs that can help treat hypertension and for a bonus I am listing natural alternatives that have done allot more wonders than the harsh BP drugs without the side effects.

Note: Normally to control high blood pressure affectively your GP will prescribe you a low dose of a few of the listed drugs.

- Diuretics
- Beta-adrenergic blocking agents
- Calcium channel blockers
- Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and Angiotensin II receptor blockers
- Vasodilators

Now for the natural remedies that work for me work far better than any of the above drugs:
- Plant sterols and soluble fiber for lowering LDL cholesterol
- Niacin for raising HDL cholesterol
- Mineral-rich foods for lowering blood pressure
- B vitamins to lower homocysteine
- Herbs and spices to reduce blood clotting (turmeric)
- Omega-3 fish oils for both lowering overall risk
- Magnesium
- Potassium, rather don’t supplement but get from your green foods
- 8 glasses of water (lack of water makes the sodium levels inside cells go up.
- Normally suggested not to have salt but 1 salt that works in a positive manner is a special sea salt called Solo, which has 61 percent less sodium,
- Antioxidants to protect arteries from damage! (Kale, Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Beetroot, Broccoli, Spinach (steamed), Plums, Alfalfa Sprouts, Tenderstem, Raspberries and Spinach (raw)
- Ginkgo Biloba
- Vitamin C

Vitamin E is also crucial and tests done at Cambridge University some 15 years ago showed a 75 per cent decrease in heart attack in a group of 2000 patients with heart disease compared to those with the placebo.

And another powerful antioxidant is Co-enzyme Q10 which has also included wonders for people with heart disease and hypertension

Reference

Clinical Chemistry
Chemical Muscle Enhancement
Patrick Holford – “Food Is Better Than Medicine”
Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7)
US Department of Health and Human Services
Hypertension — still an important cause of heart failure?
The Truth About Medications Used to Treat High Blood Pressure - Hypertension by Lu Young
J Steroid Biochem

That is very high, especially for your age! Jakes, don't be let yourself feel falsely secure because you feel fine - heart attacks can and do occur straight out of the blue.

Make sure you see a doc asap. I'm hoping fo your sake that either the machine you used is inaccurate, or you took the reading wrong.

All the best.

That's bad bro go see the doc.you still want to go on stage one day that would be difficult if your in hospital or worse.goodluck bro hope all is well

All the best Jakes! Pls let us know what the doc says

Something good: Went to the clinic. They tested my BP again. 133 over 78. Fit as a horse haha. Don't ask me how I got the freaky 104 figure... Good thing I didn't study medicine.

Something bad:
On my way back my beamer lost power, I didn't check the water in a while - there was barley any in it. Think I might have damaged the head or blown a gasket. Now that's frecken damage! I can't check now either bacause its raining cats and dogs,

Good to hear your BP is ok. Sorry about the car.

throw that machine that you used first away, that thing is going to give someone a heart attack!

Etwa wrote: throw that machine that you used first away, that thing is going to give someone a heart attack!

Yeah bud, or I just used it like a chop, either way, glad I don't have any problems lol

jakes wrote: Something good: Went to the clinic. They tested my BP again. 133 over 78. Fit as a horse haha. Don't ask me how I got the freaky 104 figure... Good thing I didn't study medicine.

Something bad:
On my way back my beamer lost power, I didn't check the water in a while - there was barley any in it. Think I might have damaged the head or blown a gasket. Now that's frecken damage! I can't check now either bacause its raining cats and dogs,

Hey Jakes
Glad you are ok... if you can still fix something by writing out a cheque, you are still lucky. Good health cannot be bought, but a new gasket can. Hope it's nothing serious with the car
I do not trust a lot of these bp machines – the one at VA always gives me a wrong reading – also too high.

Yeah man, made me stress for nothing!

I took it to the garage today, the clown working there opened the bonet, then the water cap and told me to start it then said I blew the gasket. I figured as much because there was water in the oil and smoke when I started it because of water running out the exaust and it missed a lot so fiqured the pistons might have gotten water. Anyway, I can have it fixed on monday. Then I want a new car.

Me myself nearly had a heart attack when I opened this thread and saw those figures! Don't mess with high BP! Good luck with the beamer German cars are top!

Hi there. Still on the topic of blood pressure - I get a reading of 144/80, so the upper figure is a bit high isn't it? But I've heard it's the lower figure that's the problem, but that reading seems fine?

I'm going to go on Clen / Yohimbine in a about 3 weeks time, should I be worried? I know high blood pressure could be one of the side effects. I think I am going to start off with 20mcg clen, and add 20mcg every two days up to 80mcgs. Should you do the same with the Yohimbine? DJ suggested 10mg Yohimbine per day?

I am 25, and currently on a cutting program, so hoping my weight will already be down a bit when I start with the clen, so that should help with the BP as well?

Advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

bench this is the reason i say to wait for fat burners,once u drop a bit of water and get into a health routine your blood pressure can actually drop,having too many carbs and sodium makes u retain water giving u BP problems.

bench, lay off the fat burners, but the best medicine to get the top reading down is cardio... Everyday, even if its just 20 minutes, it works like the bomb...

Yeah, you said only the last 8 weeks of the programme I must go onto the fat burners, and that's what I plan to do. But in the mean time I'd like to check my health stats just to know where I'm at for when I begin. But regardless, is there any truth to the statement that a high diastolic and normal systolic could mean you're heart is just strong, and that the systolic is the more dangerous figure to look out for?

By the way, I'm following your programme to the T, just struggling a bit with some of the weight exercises, especially the drop sets. Weak stamina / endurance, but that's expected after a break, will be better from next week. Will send through my results after week 2. Thanks!

Bench86 wrote: Yeah, you said only the last 8 weeks of the programme I must go onto the fat burners, and that's what I plan to do. But in the mean time I'd like to check my health stats just to know where I'm at for when I begin. But regardless, is there any truth to the statement that a high diastolic and normal systolic could mean you're heart is just strong, and that the systolic is the more dangerous figure to look out for?

By the way, I'm following your programme to the T, just struggling a bit with some of the weight exercises, especially the drop sets. Weak stamina / endurance, but that's expected after a break, will be better from next week. Will send through my results after week 2. Thanks!

The high systolic is the pressure at which the heart pumps out the blood, and it should not be too high either up to 130 is fine. As. Pump stated cardio daily will bring it down as well as green tea.
Stick with the program and be consistent, the squirrels programs are Saddistic but work. I learned a whole new level of intensity this week, puke puke puke.

Cool, thanks for the heads up Koe007! Will check my BP in a few weeks time, maybe it'll come down quick on this program. Happy training!

My BP was 110/67 last measured at Virgin Active Lifezone jobbie on 1 Dec 2011...
Is that a bit low?