Systolic stays high, diastolic is dropping....

[Marvin]

Anybody have any experience with this?

I bought a home BP monitor since I tend to have "white coat" syndrome. I take my BP when relaxed in the evening most days, and with medication, Atkins eating, and weight loss, my diastolic is down from consistently in the high 80's into the 90's to 60's and 70's occasionally touching the low 80's.

However, my systolic is staying consistently in the 130s and 140's.

Anybody know of any theories about the the higher systolic numbers? I see my doctor in 4 weeks, so will consult with him then, but just wondered what if anything this might be related to.

I was exercising about 45 -60 minutes a day until I got a nasty upper respiratory infection a week or so ago. The last week, I haven't exercised until I walked about 30 minutes last night.

[Desertthorn]

Actually, since they are all within normal limits, I wouldn't concern myself with it to much. I understand that its the bottom number that they look at the most.

[acey]

There is such a thing called Isolated Systolic Hypertension (ISH, for short), where the feature is a higher systolic number and a normal diastolic. You could ask your doctor about this.

Also, try taking another reading on your BP machine in the mornings, if possible. Most strokes occur in the morning, when BP is typicaly at it's highest.

(Although I find my BP low when I first wake up and take it even before I get out of bed, but climbs up within the hour.

[Kent]

As Lynne says, I have always been told your systolic numbers could be as high as your age +100 until you reached a certain age (50 I thought). With your numbers, I would not be that concerned unless you're a teenager or in your twenties.