Weight >>> BP

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

On a brighter note .............. on the same shopping expedition I

dropped into the local drug store to check my BP.

By way of introduction ......... for years my BP had been 115/70, and

I had been feeling (a bit too?) pleased with myself. But then last

year I noticed that I hadn't seen a reading below 120 for quite some

time. The higher number was creeping up to 122 - 127, while the

lower number had been dropping - so the numbers were then 125/65. I

was still feeling a bit too pleased with myself, though, until I read

what Peg referred to recently, that a difference much greater than 40

between the two numbers may itself be bad news. A difference of 60

seems like a lot more than the standard 40 difference.

(The rationale, I understand, is that whatever your systolic number,

if your BP rises substantially when the heart pumps, it implies that

your arteries are becoming inflexible - which is presumed to be not

good news. If they were more flexible, then when the heart pumped

they would flex (expand in response to the extra pressure) and absorb

much of it.)

But I hadn't taken my BP for quite a while. And since the last time

I have lost about 12 pounds on CR. So what happened to my BP this

time? The systolic has dropped twelve points - one point per pound.

Now the numbers are 111/67. So the difference is down from 60 to

44.

If these are the correct numbers (see note below*) then it does look

as if achieving the 100/60 numbers of the people here who have been

on CR for a number of years, may be attainable by the rest of us

too. Quite encouraging for everyone.

[*Of course I realize that just one isolated BP measurement is not a

reliable indication. In addition, drugstore machines are of

uncertain accuracy. So more readings, on different machines, will be

necessary before I can come to a definite conclusion. But sfsg.]

Rodney.