Blood pressure and heart rate explained
Written by: Dr. Rowena | Posted: Feb 12 2010
Q: Is Systolic blood pressure the same as the heart rate that you read when you are on the treadmill? Is your pulse different from BP or HR? You say that normal blood pressure shouldn’t increase when doing normal activities. Doesn’t blood pressure go up when you are exercising, or carrying something heavy?
A: Systolic pressure is the pressure in your arteries that occurs with the contraction of your heart. Diastolic pressure is the pressure in your arteries between heart beats. With each heart beat blood is forced through your arteries creating pulsations. The number of pulsations that occur in a minute is your pulse. As this reflects your heart rate, the terms are somewhat interchangeable. Blood pressure increases with activity but should remain within the normal range.
Tags: arteries, blood pressure, Blood Pressure & Hypertension, bp, diastolic, diastolic pressure, heart, heart beat, Heart Health, heart rate, normal blood pressure, systolic, systolic blood pressure, systolic pressureHot flashes and blood pressure
Written by: Dr. Rowena | Posted: Feb 10 2010
Q: My blood pressure is high when I have hot flashes associated with menopause. Why is that happening?
A: Hot flashes have been associated with an increase in systolic blood pressure. The reason for this has not yet been determined. Menopause is a time of change. As more medical studies are performed on this phase of life in women, perhaps an answer will be found.
Tags: blood pressure, hot flash, hot flashes, menopause, Pregnancy & Menopause, systolic blood pressureBP reduction for diabetics
Written by: Dr. Rowena | Posted: May 11 2009
Q: How much drop in B.P. on average, can a person with type 2 diabetes expect? Currently my B.P. is 150/82. What would be the reasonable expectation?
A: An article was recently published showing the RESPeRATE is effective in lowering blood pressure in type 2 diabetics. On average the systolic blood pressure dropped 10 mm and diastolic pressure 3.6 mm. You can see the abstract of this important clinical study at the Journal of Human Hypertension.
Tags: Diabetes, diabetics, journal of human hypertension, RESPeRATE, systolic blood pressure, type 2 diabetes
