Is 120/70 too low for BP?

[giddyup]

I have been taking medication for high blood pressure for a few years, recently the doctor at Bangkok/Pattaya hospital changed one of the medications I was using to Losartan 25mg. I am also taking 25mg of Metroprolol.If the dosage I'm taking isn't enough, surely my BP would be high not low. I recently bought a new Omron BP monitor and have been taking readings twice a day, the readings were around 140/80 about two weeks ago when I started the new medication, but have been slowly dropping to where I am now at 120/70. Is there any reason for concern?

[Ace of Pop]

If your 60 to 65 it's min on my Chart.Im 128 and that's fine they say.Charts disagree more than Posters here so believe your Doc only


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[giddyup]

1 minute ago, Ace of Pop said:

If your 60 to 65 it's min on my Chart.Im 128 and that's fine they say.Charts disagree more than Posters here so believe your Doc only


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I'm 75.

[Ace of Pop]

I'm 70 ,so as I said,I rely on my Doc,my Chum beats himself up with Meter and Googling too much


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[geriatrickid]

If you have heart issues, the lower the BP, the better.  Your systolic number  ideally should be in the 90 to 120 range while your diastolic should be anywhere from 60-80.  Your cardiologist will most likely reassure you with the following;

- Blood pressure  fluctuates during the day. Remember that it will be it's lowest 1-3 hours after you take your meds.

- Blood pressure really  is influenced by what you eat. If you have ingested alot of sodium, watch your  BP increase.

- Don't worry about the  diastolic number. It's the systolic number that matters.

It's all about consistency. Having a nice  reading in a doctor's office means nothing. Take your BP  3 times a day for a week and watch for  trends and what the  average BP is  per day.

 

The point being that a small increase in BP means nothing, just as a normal BP when you are  lying down means nothing. It's what the trend is during the day.

 

In respect to your dosing, all the doses are well below the  normal maintenance dose, especially your beta blocker. There may be a reason you are being given this  dosing and it's not my place to question.  I do have one question: Is the  doctor who prescribed these drugs a cardiologist? Forgive my tangent, but I am  cautious on the long term use of beta blockers and ACE inhibitors/ARB when not prescribed  by a cardiologist. Usually, one gets the ARB when the ACE inhibitor isn't tolerated and there are a series of issues that attach to the drugs. In any case, if the issue is blood pressure and not the prevention of a 2nd heart attack or stroke there are some other approaches that can be used to treat high BP. That's something to be discussed with your physician.

And  btw, Omron is one of the more reliable BP monitors. They are often used by the  personnel in cardiac rehab programs, so you purchased wisely in that regard.

[giddyup]

geriatrickid.

 

I believe the doctor I saw at Bkk/Pattaya hospital was a cardiologist, at least I saw him in the Cardiology department. Previously I had been taking Hydrochlorothiazide 25mg with the Metroprolol and the doctor asked me to stop that and use the Losartan instead.

Edited February 26, 2017 by giddyup

[geriatrickid]

9 minutes ago, giddyup said:

geriatrickid.

 

I believe the doctor I saw at Bkk/Pattaya hospital was a cardiologist, at least I saw him in the Cardiology department. Previously I had been taking Hydrochlorothiazide 25mg with the Metroprolol and the doctor asked me to stop that and use the Losartan instead.

 

And that was a diuretic. The ARB class are usually more effective at treating hypertension and it  will still make you pee like the devil. It's not my place to question the drugs especially since I am not privy to the underlying lab results, nor a qualified cardiologist. If he changed the  drugs, then obviously, he reviewed the file. Anyway, my apologies for going off on a tangent. You just monitor your BP and watch the trend for a week. If it's too high, let your doctor know. And if your systolic is  95-110, you can celebrate and  can east something salty.

 

Your BP with the medications is decent. Whatever you do, please don't stop the meds because the BP is normal.  Those are low doses you are on so you probably just needed a bit of help to get the BP down. I wouldn't be concerned. You were smart enough to purchase the monitor, so use it. And when I say smart, I mean it because checking your BP from time to time can  alert you to a problem before it becomes a serious issue.

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

 

And that was a diuretic. The ARB class are usually more effective at treating hypertension and it  will still make you pee like the devil. It's not my place to question the drugs especially since I am not privy to the underlying lab results, nor a qualified cardiologist. If he changed the  drugs, then obviously, he reviewed the file. Anyway, my apologies for going off on a tangent. You just monitor your BP and watch the trend for a week. If it's too high, let your doctor know. And if your systolic is  95-110, you can celebrate and  can east something salty.

 

Your BP with the medications is decent. Whatever you do, please don't stop the meds because the BP is normal.  Those are low doses you are on so you probably just needed a bit of help to get the BP down. I wouldn't be concerned. You were smart enough to purchase the monitor, so use it. And when I say smart, I mean it because checking your BP from time to time can  alert you to a problem before it becomes a serious issue.

Have printed off some BP record sheets, so recording twice a day, morning and evening. Thanks for all the advice BTW.

[Sheryl]

Your BP is fine, normal range.

 

 

[al007]

I am not a doctor but have had more than my share of medical problems over the last six months, you do not mention your age, I am 72 and if my blood pressure is any where around yours I am very happy I vary from 120 on a good day upto 155 on a bad day lower one around 60/80

 

I have my own machine and use it not every day but quite often and if the first reading is bad, relax for ten/15 mins and do it again

 

If you listen to all the uninformed advice you get here your blood pressure will go up, and if you listen to the bad advice and there is plenty well it might go off the scale

 

I was for a while on blood pressure pills as well but since my weight has come down I am now on no blood pressure medication

 

GOOD LUCK STOP  WORRYING AND BE HAPPY the best medication of the lot

 

PS Sheryl is 100% correct 98.5% of the time, and it is very dangerous not to follow her !!

 

 

Edited February 26, 2017 by al007

[al007]

8 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

If your 60 to 65 it's min on my Chart.Im 128 and that's fine they say.Charts disagree more than Posters here so believe your Doc only


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Personally be careful believing your doctors, I had three different ones who told me not to worry, I had two different cancers, they all got it wrong, some doctors are also wonderful, in fact more than wonderful, but choose your doctor carefully, I got it wrong three times, but am here to tell the tale

[tutsiwarrior]

I was diagnosed with high BP about 6 years ago (a complication of 10 years of type 2 diabetes?) and the doc put me on exforge (5mg amlopidine/80mg valsartan) and I bought an Omron BP monitor at the same time...

 

the BP didn't come down below 150 systolic and a few years later I saw another doc that prescribed hydrochlorothiazide 25mg in addition and then whoosh the systolic came down to 120 - 130...not bad...

 

I've then played around a bit with the meds and diet, etc but the combo of exforge and the hydro, both once per day, are still required to keep things under control...

 

always heed the doc's recommendation but use yer BP monitor to see what actually works fer you...3 times per day, keep a record of the readings and the circumstances (meds, diet, exertion level, etc) during the day...plot it out, BP vs time of the day, and have a look and then you might get a rough idea of how things work...

 

if yer over weight losin' weight does a lot of good...

 

 

[mommysboy]

This is optimal.

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

Medical textbooks used to indicate that 120/80 was the normal value for an adult,  although I have read a number of sources that have suggested that 120/80 should be regarded as the upper end of normal. The diastolic or lower value is often regarded as the more important value as it represents the pressure exerted on the arterial wall when the heart is at rest. I wouldn't worry about a reading of 120/70 but I would continue to engage in regular exercise, eat a balanced diet and take remedial action if my weight begins to climb outside the normal range.

The make of machine you are using  has a reputation for accuracy.

[lopburi3]

That sounds good to me - and about what I run at same age and doctors very happy with it.  My current medication is Carvediol 6.25 twice a day and have been using beta blockers for 30 years and they seem to work well for me.  But that good pressure is at home - in hospital it will often be much higher so very important to have your own monitor as a lot of us have very severe 'white coat' syndrome (which can result in doctors over medicating if they base your BP on the readings they take in office).   Much better to have 120 and not pass out when you get up than under 100 and almost fall every time you move!

Edited February 27, 2017 by lopburi3

[Ace of Pop]

Personally be careful believing your doctors, I had three different ones who told me not to worry, I had two different cancers, they all got it wrong, some doctors are also wonderful, in fact more than wonderful, but choose your doctor carefully, I got it wrong three times, but am here to tell the tale

Agreed I was thinking more about the helpfully advice givers who in many cases sound more plausible than Experts just because they embellish a little learning,most of us know one.[emoji433][emoji382]


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[mommysboy]

6 hours ago, Rajab Al Zarahni said:

Medical textbooks used to indicate that 120/80 was the normal value for an adult,  although I have read a number of sources that have suggested that 120/80 should be regarded as the upper end of normal. The diastolic or lower value is often regarded as the more important value as it represents the pressure exerted on the arterial wall when the heart is at rest. I wouldn't worry about a reading of 120/70 but I would continue to engage in regular exercise, eat a balanced diet and take remedial action if my weight begins to climb outside the normal range.

The make of machine you are using  has a reputation for accuracy.

 

Blood pressure is age related.  Typically males have higher systolic pressure the older they get.  In times gone by the formula was 100 plus your age.  Recently, higher pressure  in older people has been treated as a disorder and treated accordingly to bring it to the level of a fit young person, ie, 120/80.

 

But blood pressure is just one indicator.  There is no one size fits all.

 

120/80 is optimal/ideal.  Obviously if it is medically induced then one can not get carried away and if at all possible it is better to get that way without medication.

Edited February 27, 2017 by mommysboy

[Ace of Pop]

Yes exercise is the way ,safely I hobbled along behind my 70 year old chum ,thanks to action man Injuries ,whilst he sat in moderation only to be called lazy .Hes won long term, not Me.


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[mommysboy]

On 28/02/2017 at 1:40 PM, Ace of Pop said:

Yes exercise is the way ,safely I hobbled along behind my 70 year old chum ,thanks to action man Injuries ,whilst he sat in moderation only to be called lazy .Hes won long term, not Me.


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It is something best done on the light side, and it is far more enjoyable that way too.  I really enjoy my light jog.  It's not the whole answer either as my blood pressure is currently high.  I've a feeling relaxation is really important.  See if you can find something you really like doing: that might just be lolling around in a pool for instance.  Don't have goals. Walking is an excellent conditioner.