Blood pressure?

[Avispa]

Do athletes or active people have higher blood pressure than sedentary adults?

In other words, the HR of an active person is normally lower (stronger) than a sedentary person, therefore, would the stronger heart pump blood at a higher pressure? Are there any good articles on this issue that you could recommend?

Thanks!

..A..

[znfdl]

Avispa:

My blood pressure numbers contradict your hypothesis, as my BP is 95/58.

[Avispa]

Avispa:

My blood pressure numbers contradict your hypothesis, as my BP is 95/58.

This was not a hypothesis it is a question! ;)

How old are you? and What is your body weight?

I am 47 and 150 now, my current BP is 104/65*

..A..

*Edit: I have been sick with a stomach flu for a couple of days... No, not the "stomach flu" that the guys in the Grand Tours get! :eek:

[Viper]

Avispa:

My blood pressure numbers contradict your hypothesis, as my BP is 95/58.

Are you male, female?

[Viper]

This was not a hypothesis it is a question! ;)

How old are you? and What is your body weight?

I am 47 and 150 now my current BP is 126/84

..A..

BP does not know height, weight, sometimes etc atmo. There are twigs with high resting BP and Fat Alberts with low resting BP. Genes, jeans, living in' blue jeans.

[regularguy412]

I'm 48 and have, on two previous occasions, had 'high' BP. The first was in the early 1990's around the time my mom was diagnosed with cancer. The second was from 1999 to 2005. I had stopped bike racing/training in 1999 and got back on the bike in 2006. I was seriously overweight during that period.

I haven't checked my BP in a few months, but since I've gotten back on the bike and lost almost all the excess weight, it routinely checks around 126/74. A couple of times, I checked it at 117/69. I don't ever want to be on BP meds again. They tended to have some unpleasant side effects.

Mike in AR

[Viper]

I'm 48 and have, on two previous occasions, had 'high' BP. The first was in the early 1990's around the time my mom was diagnosed with cancer. The second was from 1999 to 2005. I had stopped bike racing/training in 1999 and got back on the bike in 2006. I was seriously overweight during that period.

I haven't checked my BP in a few months, but since I've gotten back on the bike and lost almost all the excess weight, it routinely checks around 126/74. A couple of times, I checked it at 117/69. I don't ever want to be on BP meds again. They tended to have some unpleasant side effects.

Mike in AR

You should check your BP monthly atmo.

[regularguy412]

You should check your BP monthly atmo.

Yeah. I know. But my BP unit threw craps back in September and I've just not looked diligently enough for a replacement. FWIW, I've had high BP enough before to know how it feels. I'll admit that's no replacement for an actual routine check. New unit is now high on the priority list.

Mike in AR

[Peter P.]

I'm a 47 year old male, 5'6", 130lbs.

I donate blood every 8 weeks so I get my blood pressure checked regularly. It's always lower than 120/80, more like 100-110/60-70.

[Viper]

I'm a 47 year old male, 5'6", 130lbs.

I donate blood every 8 weeks so I get my blood pressure checked regularly. It's always lower than 120/80, more like 100-110/60-70.

If you were 149lbs, it's not true that your BP would be higher*. Blood every 8 weeks, are they paying you for it? :D

* = I'm 6' and I have some gray hair atmo.

[thwart]

I'm no expert, and I don't play one on TV. :D

Athletes tend to have a lower blood pressure than the general population. It's not completely understood how exercise lowers BP, but it seems to be in part that it causes your peripheral blood vessels to dilate (relax). Therefore your heart has to do less work pumping. Likely lowering the levels of both the hormones insulin and epinephrine plays a role here, as well as others.

Being more lean also tends to lower BP, although as noted above, thin folks can have high BP too.

[Bud_E]

My understanding is: High BP is primarily caused by 1) genetics, 2) being overweight, 3) other factors ( diet, stress, etc, etc ) ...in that order. There are other possible outlying causes ( kidney problems, etc, etc ) but these affect a very small percentage of the population and can be eliminated by simple tests.

Most likely if you have borderline high BP, it is caused by 1,2 and/or 3 above. 2) and 3) can be improved by lifestyle choices. 1) is really difficult to get around and you should consider finding a good Doctor and take the medicine he prescribes.

(edit. I see this doesn't exactly answer the OP but I'm stickin' to it )

[Skrawny]

In other words, the HR of an active person is normally lower (stronger) than a sedentary person, therefore, would the stronger heart pump blood at a higher pressure?

Blood pressure has little to do with heart rate. In fact it has little to do with the heart (mostly the heart suffers ill effects of beating against a high blood pressure, but isnt the CAUSE of it)

Blood FLOW through the heart is a function of stroke volume (volume of blood pumped with each beat) and heart rate, but the pressure in the system is separate. Someone (ie athlete) with a slower heart will have the same resting blood flow because they have a larger stroke volume per beat, but the blood pressure could be lower the same or higher.

Physiologists are still trying to figure out all the factors that go into blood pressure, but the simplest explanation is that it is a function of the amount of squeeze being applied by all of the arteries in the system.

-s

[gt6267a]

175, 21% (according to tanita), 5'7", 119/75.

[11.4]

The answer to your question really depends on the state of fitness of the athlete, and especially on his/her genetic advantage. A world-class road cyclist will typically have a lower diastolic reading and a greater spread between the systolic and diastolic. Thus where a prototypical fit human has a pressure of 120/80 (systolic/diastolic), a top endurance athlete may have 115/60. The difference in pressure reflects the greater efficiency of the circulatory system in that individual. Now those are resting numbers, the other aspect of a genetically gifted athlete is his/her response to activity. A hill climber will see some increase in both numbers, but not significant -- blood pressure doesn't have to change much with higher blood flow. However, Chris Hoy is such a remarkable kilo rider because in an explosive effort, he can elevate his pressure to 205/105 and actually benefit from it (where the rest of us would be impaired).

These numbers can't be approximated by an average cyclist, even with reasonable fitness. If you consider resting heartrate, an individual commencing training with a 70 bpm rate might get down to 62 with 2-3 years' structured training. That individual can't expect to get down to the 28-34 bpm rates that the top road stars can show. That's about genetics. As a great coach once said, "you can't put in what Gawd left out".

[znfdl]

This was not a hypothesis it is a question! ;)

How old are you? and What is your body weight?

I am 47 and 150 now, my current BP is 126/84*

..A..

*Edit: I have been sick with a stomach flu for a couple of days... No, not the "stomach flu" that the guys in the Grand Tours get! :eek:

I am a 47 year old male, weight is usually between 155 and 165 depending upon the time of the year.

[mister]

i check my blood pressure when i go to the store. my heart rate is usually about 60-55bpm at that time and my BP will fluctuate from approximately 138/80 or 75 to as low as 115/58. it's been lower and higher. i think diet has alot to do with it. isn't it best to take many readings over a period and average them.

just a month or two ago we did some blood testing at work for some exercise/health program and HDL cholesterol was at the high end of the chart and the LDL chol. were very low...i'd have to find that booklet to see what the actual readings were.

i haven't smoked in two weeks now and i'm going to start drinking red wine :p

oh yeah, 6'1", 190-195lbs, low body fat.

[WadePatton]

caffeine and nicotine are bp elevating drugs...and I see so many people taking bp lowering drugs whilst sucking coffee and a butt. :no:

one would be wise to eliminate those in order to avoid bp reduction medications...no matter how pretty the advertising-- :rolleyes:

Personally I've not ever had an issue with it. Runs low. even with caffeine and nicotine. :D

[thwart]

caffeine and nicotine are bp elevating drugs
Nicotine: yes, significantly.

Caffeine (within reason*): not much. :banana:

* not more than (2) 12 oz cups, if you're a regular drinker. I'm not sure that definition of reasonable applies to this crowd...

[benb]

My understanding is the lower resting BP shown by fit individuals is because high pressure during exercise "stretches" blood vessels which helps maintain their elasticity. A sedentary person does not gain this benefit and their arteries will harden as they age at a faster rate.

I'd love to see some real scientific evidence of what makes "elite" athletes special with respect to heart rate & BP.. most of the claims of resting heart rates in the 20-30bpm seem suspect to me. Why? Cause top cyclists have been lying forever about what is going into their body. It IS possible for an average cyclist to lower their resting HR down into those ranges. How do you do this? Simply be like the pros and take EPO or start your own blood doping program... thicken your blood up and your resting HR will fall. So when I see coaches making wild claims about their riders hearts I just get suspicious.. it sounds like they are just making cover up claims to explain superhuman drug-induced performance.