Fifty Plus (50+) - 50+'rs Blood Pressure Drop

I have been doing lap swimming one hour per day this last 1.5 weeks.

My blood pressure this am - 106/69, a drop from what I was previously getting of 120/80 or thereabouts. And it was also low yesterday.

Everything else in my life is the same - no other lifestyle changes.

Wow!!

I monitor the BP daily, and it has never been this low.

I understand that blood pressure hops around a fair bit. Stress is reported to drive it right up. Exercise drives it down. Going to the physician and having it taken supposedly drives it up in many people.

I understand that blood pressure hops around a fair bit. Stress is reported to drive it right up. Exercise drives it down. Going to the physician and having it taken supposedly drives it up in many people.

True, but I exercise intensively at least one-hour daily every day of my life. And I monitor it at home, not at the MD's office. I just wonder if the swimming has anything to do with it. I have never done laps like this before.

Swimming is a very relaxing and contemplative exercise... it takes forever* to swim a mile, so your mind just wanders and grooves to the rhythm. I can see where it could lower blood pressure.

Is a drop of that much a good thing?

Is a drop of that much a good thing?

Absolutely yes. Lot's of good research on lower blood pressure.

Hmmm, perhaps after so long in the water, you diluted your blood. :rolleyes: Hey, it is just a theory! :lol:

I'd wait a while to see if a trend develops before making any judgments. Lots of things affect blood pressure, so I don't think you can infer much from a day or two. Swimming, though, is great. I'm going to bike less next year and swim more, to get a more well-rounded workout. It does get boring, however.

Having a doctor or nurse measure anything raises it! I just take my own here in the house, no biggie. Always healthy. I cycle and walk, but also tend to do real southern cooking. Real southern cooking uses lots of butter. I think a small bowl of real bisque a day would kill me. Recipes with 2 sticks butter, a pint heavy cream . . . . but very tasty!

I do wonder whether real cooking helps a lot. For example, fried chicken. Real fried chicken. Egg then flour then crumbs on the chicken. Golden brown in butter. Not much really sticks to the chicken and theres no deep fat. Probably healthier than KFC. And very very good. And real Jambalaya. And so on. I know low-country shrimp & grits or shrimp & rice has to be pretty healthy.

But then there's marbled thick steak, brushed with olive oil, seared, then baked to doneness with a big lump of butter on top. I suspect that's another killer in overdose!!!!

It was probably that double dose of Viagra that did it, not the swimming. I find it easier to hit my MHR while swimming than while cycling, so I suppose maybe enough lap swimming would have a small effect, too.

I had high blood pressure for a while last year and I had to keep a regular check on it. No problem except my HOME kit kept giving a different reading to the doctor. Then had a hospital appointment and blood pressure taken at it. Reading was as normal as my home kit gave so no idea why the Doctor was coming up with a different figure.

Before I started riding again 7 months ago, my BP was 130+/88. Resting Pulse=75 After daily cycling until today, it's holding steady at just about 102-108/66-70 Resting Pulse=46

When I was racing in the 1970's, it was about 95/60, Pulse=36

Possibly sweating out that salt may play a good part too.

knotty

DNVR, you need to count your WHITE blood cells, and then report.

it takes forever* to swim a mile

C'mon now, not all that long! Well, I can't quite do three in an hour anymore...

Swimming is great exercise though, and good point about relaxing, contemplative, etc.

Back in the day, th' blood bank nurse put the cuff on my left arm (closer to heart) and blew into my ear until the pressure met minimum for donations. ;)