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I Have High Blood Pressure
By Samantha Landry (January 8, 2008)
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"Your pressure is high". The ominous words are
echoing in my head even as I am lying down
hours after the doctor's visit today.
160 over 90. That's what my readings are today.
I still find it hard to absorb. All my life I had more
than a little pride that my vital stats were always
so good. Blood pressure--120 over 70, sometimes
110 over 70. This was true even as my weight
climbed up over the years, from 115-120 in
college to 240 at my highest. I don't know where
it is now exactly--I subscribe to that self-delusion
that it's best to get a running start on a weight
program before I needlessly bombard myself with
any accurate information about my true weight.
I likened myself to a sea lion or walrus--you
know, blubbery on the outside, but supremely fit
on the inside where it counts--capable of
swimming 10,000 miles non-stop in dark, cold
ocean waters. Fat but fit.
I was wrong. I am not fat but fit. I am not a seal
lion. I am a beached whale.
Problem was, I was being evaluated for a new
HMO plan. That's why I was at the doctor's office
today. And, surprise, my ballooned-up blood
pressure numbers are north of the maximum
allowable threshhold for the plan. I have to get
healthier just to get insured so I can get healthier.
Straight to the internet for some research. It turns
out that any blood pressure number over 140 for
a top number (the systolic number) is considered
Stage One High Blood Pressure. Any bottom
number (diastolic) over 90 is likewise bad news.
Any top number over 160 is considered Stage
Two. Stage Two is the edge of the cliff. At a
reading of 160 for a top number, I'm at the edge
of the cliff, looking over. There is no Stage Three
so I guess the next stage is what, Death?
A high bottom number is worse than a high top
number because the bottom number is your blood
pressure at rest. At rest, for God's sake. So if your
bottom number is high, the blood is pushing
against your artery walls all the time-- that's every
second of the day and night, which can cause
aneurysm, the pouching out of the artery walls,
leading to Death.
Now, I re-read some of the articles Susan Callahan
has been after me to read. I really read them. I'm
going to change.
I'll let you now how I'm doing as I progress
(hopefully) but here is my game plan:
1. Eat a big bowl of salad for lunch and dinner
with fish, not cooked in salt.
2. I'm giving up carbonated drinks . These can
lower the levels of calcium in my blood, which
raise blood pressure.
3. Eat more low-fat dairy three times a day. Raises
calcium.
4. Try to eliminate the extra salt.
5. Walk around the park near my house 30
minutes in the morning and 30 minutes after
dinner.
6. Take a baby aspirin just before I go to bed. One
study says it helps and I'm looking for all the
help--and hope--I can find.
This sea lion is going to become a sleek dolphin.
For the next 30 days, follow my progress on my
Sea Lion's Diet.
Do you know your blood pressure numbers?
Where do you stand? The chart below can help.
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