I’m in a situation where my blood pressure has been taken daily or almost daily and sometimes several times a day by different people just as a matter of course I noticed some time ago that not smoking (vs other things) dramaticaly dropped my blood pressure (which for most of my life had actually been consistantly kind of low, often the first of the two numbers around 100 - 112 but as I’ve aged and my smoking also increased for a few years it had been more 128 - 138 (which I guess still isn’t bad but unusual I think for somebody who ran kinda low most of the time). At one point I was a bit overweight and my cholesterol numbers weren’t bad but could have used work (havent’ had it chenced since but I have slightly modified my eating habits, have lost weight since then and I’m officially even by BMI etc standards, in range where I should be and not overweight) well now with having it checked daily I’m all over the place with blood pressure. A couple of days ago it was 136 and another day it was 128, and today it was 102. I realize other things like if you moved around alot just before or if just woke up or even if you’re just nervous (maybe the person taking the blood pressure has more to do with it than people may realize, maybe even how well they actually get the cuff on your arm… I have a small arm and one person has a hard time getting the cuff on me in just the right place and so it doesnt’ pop itself off in the process, that’s the guy who came up with 102 today) I’m also thinking this might have a direct connection to how much nicotine (by any means, smoke snuff or snus) I might be taking in, but not sure. (whether i had a fresh snus in my mouth, if and how long before I had taken a sniff etc). I don’t have any known issues with blood pressure (this having it checked is just part and parcel of other things that are going on) They also all notice I have a fast pulse most of the time (I don’t think this is a big deal, after all I am the size of the typical 12 year old and I know smaller animals have faster heart rates etc so I have a theory that just because I’m smaller mine goes faster just like my cat’s goes much faster than mine etc – that could be nicotine a bit too but I doubt it since its pretty consistant) anyway, What do you guys think? how much would nicotine intake affect the blood pressure thing?
I spent all summer monitoring my blood pressure due to my heart attack and resulting Cardio workouts after my quintuple bypass, I quit smoking with snus, and later took up snuff. The use of snus and snuff will definitely effect your blood pressure due to dilation. But you can still use, just be careful. I have to quit using at least an hour before Cardio workouts, or my pressure goes too high. Snus has a more pronounced effect for me. Just use a home machine and get a feel for how it effects you. They are a hell of a lot safer than smoking.
@whistlrr: I don’t know how old you are, but as we age, blood pressure tends to rise. Exercise on a regular basis tends to help, but I don’t know how much you can do. Your BP is not so bad the Drs would put you on medication, but that is where most people end up by the time they get to my age. After all we have spent our whole lives eating the modern diet. Burgers and fries, Fish and chips etc.
My BP is way higher than if should be, and I have been prescribed meds, but to be honest, I hate taking meds, and I have not. But it was high before I ever did snuff, snus, dip, chew… But I have played around with diet ideas, and while I haven’t been able to stick with anything, my BP goes to normal when I cut out the carbs.
Well according to my knowledge the blood pressure have two limits - The Upper and The Lower. The Upper is when you start hearing your heart beat on your stethoscope and the lower limit is when you stop hearing your heart beat, watching the manometer all the time. I’m kind of person with low blood presure. My normal is 85/125 . My body is designed for low blood pressure and if it is artificially increased with medicine I feel extremely bad. Good doctors know that there are different types of bodies designed for low, medium and high blood pressure and it should not be altered. My normal pulse is about 70 beats per minute. My measurements are kind of a stone-steady. They do not change no matter how much snuff I take or how much stress I take. If you manage to scare me my pulse slightly increases to 75-80 ant normalizes after a few seconds. When I’m doing exercise like long running my pulse is increased during the exercise to 80-85 sometimes to 90 which is normal while doing sport. whistlrr, if your first digit is 100 - 112 than you have a medium to high blood pressure. But if you want a correct answer you should tell us both digits. And what is your pulse. Smaller hearts beat faster, that is normal. Teen hearts beat much faster then adult ones. The heart is perfectly designed to pump the blood in the easiest way.
@Machman Yep. High blood pressure runs on both sides of my family (various aunts uncles, and my own father who is still liviing and in his early 70’s) so I guess I think its almost even kind of impressive almost, that mine still tends to actually run kind of low (I am 45) if I give it a chance (changed eating a bit, lost a little weight and when I’m not perodicaly spiking it with nicotine, etc – which is kinda what I think has been going on) I never liked putting salt on my food and if given a chance I prefer ‘real food’ over sweets and crap (never got the whole chocolate thing, ice cream doesn’t agree with me, and I made myself so sick gorging all the candy the holloween I was 8 that I just never really could do very much of most of it ever since. No, can’t really do a lot of exercising right now (this is part of what’s being examined and worked on in fact, one of several reasons people are in here alot and checking these things as we go is for physical therapy) but we’re working on it/thats in the worls (right now we’re trying to get various muscles and things to just relax and stretch before strength training them etc) I wasn’t trying to imply being worried about it (I’ve seen on another unrelated thread how people can misconstrue and misinterpret most anything, and then others will quickly pile in behind to back and support and do the exact same thing) its just an oddity, just another thing to idly puzzle on (and time to sit and puzzle and wonder and consider things is something I’ve got plenty of), just more making conversation/wondering outloud type stuff
sorry to bring this up again, but i was curious, so I looked it up… Normal Systolic (Upper, so to speak) BP is from 90-140 mmHg Diastolic Pressures (lower) normal range is 60-90 mmHg The “Text book” BP is 120/80. So whistlrr, your blood pressure is within normal limits, according to my nursing text book, here. Nicotine probably plays a big role, as do environmental things like stress or anxiety, but i suspect (for what that is worth) that human-error plays a part in your case as well. I’m not a doctor or licensed health care person, of course.
Now I am positive that smoking tobacco had substantially raised my blood pressure (while still withint normal ranges was still quite a bit of a change) over all the years I smoked since it was typically in the 128 - 138 range while I smoked. Here is the history, as recorded by people taking it over days and writing it on a folder/chart, of my blood pressure which correlates to when I last smoked (bet you can tell just by looking at it just when I really stopped smoking and went to only snuff and snuss): my family has a history of blood pressure/heart troubles in my family (my grandfather who smoked cigars died of a heart attack), my father who only quit smoking a few years ago in his late 60’s, has high blood pressure and has to take medicine to control it, mother is also a late-aged ex-smoker and also is currrently on high blood pressure medicine (was her father who died of a heart attack), blood aunts and uncles also have to take it, but even knowing all that, look at me here, at age 45 and fresh off my last smoke and onto only smokeless: date BP 01/31/10 128/68 02/04/10 128/72 02/08/10 110/76 02/09/10 116/70 02/11/10 102/78 02/12/10 102/58 02/15/10 102/60 02/15/10 90/60 02/16/10 102/80
Kid, you don’t have a problem. You should see my blood pressure. When they put me on pills about twenty years ago it was running 200/110. Scared the doctor. Oh, I wasn’t smoking then or using any tobacco (had quit 25 years earlier, decided not using tobacco wasn’t a good thing for me and started again)
I… didn’t say I had a problem (why do people get on a kick and a roll and just… keep on with it no matter what is actually said?) I was pointing out and marveling at how much I DON’T have a problem and that I think this NOT having a problem is actually a result of switching from smoking to snuff (and still a little snus though I am learning to just snuff solo and be satisfied) Somebody will probably come back and reply yet again as if I’ve just said the opposite heh… but let me try this anyway: What I said is a GOOD thing… A GOOD thing, see? Whistlrr’s Blood pressure especially since smoking cessation = A GOOD thing
Mine too whistlrr! My blood pressure was a bit high for the doc’s liking a couple years ago when I not only smoked but drank heavily (like, between a pint and a fifth of gin every night). Since I quit smoking and reduced the alcohol, he says my bp is “perfect.”
My BP dropped 20 points after I quit smoking. Snus and Snuff I still use ad it hasn’t affected my BP. Heck I usually have a portion of snus in when I’m at the doctors office. My doctor says I went from pre- hypertension to mid range normal.
Sorry to hear about your blood pressure problems Wistlrr.
Ha HA.
@Whistlrr don’t worry to much about your blood pressure, it will only get worse if you worry.
Dam…man your hearts going to explode!!!