I have high blood pressure (45yo WM) even though I don't eat much red meat, don't add salt to food, don't drink, do run, etc. It's genetic.
It's to the point where I am considering taking medication to lower it, like one of those new inhibitor drugs.
Anyone else here already taking blood pressure medicine; if so, which one and did it effect your training, fitness, running, etc.
TIA
Depends on your inurances' formulary, but lisinopril is gnerally the generic ace inhibitor prescribed. Cough, fatigue are the most common side effects. Don't know you, but weight reduction goes a long way in decreased bp.
Don't make the same mistake I made. Read this FIRST and then you will know what to talk about with your doctor.
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020801/445.html
Ps. This article was given to me by another poster a few years ago. I am grateful.
How high is it? Some doctors can be very jumpy when prescribing meds for a high, but still relatively low high blood pressure(stage 1)
140/90 I'd say just lose weight, exercise more.
160/100 get meds.
Alan
Does anybody know anything about if runners might typically experience bilateral blood pressure differences? I have been having my blood pressure measured on a fairly regular basis. It is a bit high in the left arm, to the point where I've been considering medication--it is usually in the 140/90 range. However in the right arm it measures 120/80, perfectly normal. The reading I've done suggests that this is not usual and can be a sign of pathology, but I wondered if a stronger heart and greater stroke volume in a runner could be a cause?
Thanks for the responses and the link.
I run 6 days/week, 10k min. and Sundays 20-25k. My weight is not bad (5'9" - 156lbs), not what it was when I was fast (140), but that was 20 years ago. I'm trying to lose a bit of weight. Hopefully this will give me that extra bit of motivation to make a good dent in it.
My BP is like 140/100...