So, how many of you geek on your BP? Me, I check it four or five mornings per week upon waking. My typical BP is in the neighborhood of 96/54 +/- a few points here or there. My AM hr is typically mid 40’s. When I’m really whacked out stressed from school, my systolic might creep to a whopping 100. My highest HR in months was 50 during mid-terms. I drink the equivalant of four or five cups of coffee per day. Sodium is often less than 1200 mg/day. If I squat down to show a customer something and stand up, I have to use some tricks from my Air Force fighter buddies to prevent total gray-out and hitting the floor in front of said customer. When I went in to the Emergency Room a few months back to get my $1200.00 stiches, they took my BP and it was one-oh-something over fifty something as I’m bleeding all over the place. The nurse looked at me and asked if I use drugs. Besides the near passing out thing, should I be concerned? FWIW, I"m 35, 5’11", 170 lbs.
Healthy, athletic people often have BP’s in the 90-100 range systolic and a little orthostatic hypotension (dropping your BP when you stand up). You sound pretty doggone healthy from cardiovascular perspective.
I have the same problem. My BP is about 100/60, resting HR under 50. I also drink 4-5 cups of coffee daily. Unlike you, I normally use plenty of salt. At 48 I’m a bit older than you. Last summer I had a couple of episodes where I did totally black out after squatting. It only happened after squatting, not sitting or lying down. My doctor referred me to a cardiologist. I had an echocardiogram done. The cardiologist thought he saw something so I then had a transesophagel echocardiogram which found that everything was perfectly normal. The advice from both my doctor and the cardiologist was to get up more slowly. Further research on the web indicated my problem may have been exacerbated by the fact I was on a diet at the time of my blackouts and not getting the daily requirements of sodium. I now make sure I get enough salt and I have had no further occurences. The other day after a run while I was doing my stretching I noticed when I squatted down my HR lowered by about 30 beats and went up rapidly when I stood up.
At almost every doctor’s visit in the past 10 years or so they can’t believe how low my BP is and usually take a reading in both arms several times. I have wondered if having below normal BP was a problem but have always been assured it’s not. Makes me wonder if any research has been done.
<<At almost every doctor’s visit in the past 10 years or so they can’t believe how low my BP is and usually take a reading in both arms several times. I have wondered if having below normal BP was a problem but have always been assured it’s not. Makes me wonder if any research has been done>>
Perhaps endurance athletes, even MOP AGer’s, are enough of a rarety amongst the population that when we do visit the doctor’s office, we stand out. If I’m not mistaken, 120/80 is considered normal/average/healthy. My former riding partner is now a computer wonk and makes good $$. His house is free and clear, owns four cars and has high BP. He’s six months younger than I am. 12-15 years ago, we used to compete to see who could get their HR the lowest. My best was 38, he hit 32. That was “back in the day” when we would ride every day for two or three hours. I’m still a pauper and now he’s a popper (BP meds, that is). Funny how life works sometimes…
haha tell me about blacking out. one day last year i stopped to tie my shoe in the middle of the stairs at school, and when i got up I got so dizzy i fell down 3 stairs. never had my bp taken though.
weird thing is it happens in season. for a month i won’t be able to sit/bend/lie down without getting really dizzy when standing back up, and then half a year nothing.
****J Appl Physiol. 1991 Jan;70(1):112-22. Related Articles, Links Physical fitness and cardiovascular regulation: mechanisms of orthostatic intolerance.
Levine BD, Buckey JC, Fritsch JM, Yancy CW Jr, Watenpaugh DE, Snell PG, Lane LD, Eckberg DL, Blomqvist CG.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9034.
We studied three groups of eight men each–high, mid, and low fit (peak O2 consumption 60.0 +/- 0.8, 48.9 +/- 1.0, and 35.7 +/- 0.9 ml.min-1.kg-1)–to determine the mechanism of orthostatic intolerance in endurance athletes. Tolerance was defined by progressive lower body negative pressure (LBNP) to presyncope. Maximal calf vascular conductance (Gmax) was measured. The carotid baroreflex was characterized using both stepwise R-wave-triggered and sustained (2 min) changes in neck chamber pressure. High-fit subjects tended to have lower LBNP tolerance than mid- and low-fit subjects but similar baroreflex responses. Subjects with poor LBNP tolerance had larger stroke volumes (SV) (120 +/- 6 vs. 103 +/- 3 ml) and greater decline in SV with LBNP to -40 mmHg (40 +/- 2 vs. 26 +/- 4%). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that Gmax and steady-state gain of the carotid baroreflex contributed significantly toward explaining interindividual variations in LBNP tolerance. Thus endurance athletes may have decreased LBNP tolerance, but apparently not as a simple linear function of aerobic fitness. Orthostatic tolerance depends on complex interactions among functional characteristics that appear both related (Gmax and SV) and unrelated (baroreflex function) to fitness or exercise training.
PMID: 2010366
Here is the abstract of an article that discusses the mechanisms of this phenomenen. I thought you might find it interesting. There are a numbe of other articles available if you search this subject on Medline. It is kinda technical though.
Mine has been known to go as low as 70 something over 40 something. This was true about me even when I was a fat cigarette smoking hard living teenager. I also have a very low resting heartrate naturally. The down side is that I often almost pass out after rising out of my desk chair and I seem to go into shock very easily (during a routine procedure once in my Dr’s office, not a good thing to hear your doctor say “Call 911”!)
The way I look at it, my heart is beating less per unit time and there is less stress on my vascular system over time so I will live a long, long time. This has been true of several members of my family.
Makes planning for retirement a bitch.
(I’m sure the medical docrtors will correct me and point out the ways this can lead to an early death. In which case I’ll start spending that 401K now…)
