It seems that at the grand old age of 55, high bp has caught up with me. (It is being monitored atm but the systolic readings are consistently above the ‘ideal’). Early days yet, but I’m getting my head around the whole thing.

I don’t smoke, only drink a little, have no weight left to lose and eat a pretty healthy diet. (The root of the problem would appear to be hereditary)

Fitness wise I am as fit as I have ever been at this time of year, for eg I can happily sit at 160bpm on a turbo(fast tempo for me), for an hour and then be back to normal (not resting hr) within three minutes of starting a warm down.

I know high bp is asymptomatic and has little or nothing to do with how ‘fit’ I am. What concerns me atm (probably only for vanity reasons) is, if I have to take meds, what should I expect to lose by way of fitness, speed, ability to move up and down the (heart rate) gears?

Any thoughts on this?

Doesn’t it depend on what type you have?
Sure some wise old STW will be along with a cup of tea and hobnobs.

As long as you have a good GP you have nothing to worry about 🙂

Doesn’t it depend on what type you have?

Don’t know!

Black Coffee and no biscuits – but will give it a go? 52 years old I had /have a big issue with hypertension 220/120 at the start it also turned out I was hyper resistive to all the drugs (current drugs would make an average person pass out within an hour) the good news is that excercise reduces blood pressure (especially post excercise) so subject to the docs agreement keep going, interestingly it appears my BP is also hereditary but with excercise and drugs it’s reasonable 135/90 – a word of warning some BP drugs (losartin) wring you out and cause kidney/pancreas problems so if you start getting cramps at night get to the docs and it might be worth monitoring your blood sugar levels while you get used to the drugs – also keep an eye out for the dull chest ache when your heart is near its max as that is angina (furry arteries ) other than that nowt to worry about ‘ I am not a doctor but I have met lots of doctors so this is all possibly bollocks

I could write a thesis on this subject and don’t assume consultants actually know what’s going on

I am sort of 155 to 160 over 85ish so nowhere near as bad as you were.

My BP is super healthy. An espresso or two and its in the danger zone

Losartin…….prescribed that to me as a diabetic…….and also contra indicated against glicazide…….and I was allergic to the damn thing, nearly ended my days! Literally!!!

Slowjo how is it being monitored? With the 24hr armband or when you go to visit the doctor’s?

It is also prob worth noting that your diastolic (the pressure when the heart is at rest) is looking pretty good, and I always feel that it’s a high diastolic that should cause the most worry.

@shermer75 I am taking readings twice daily with a gizmo the surgery lent me.