Life On A B-I7

AHA Blood Pressure Notes

What follows is my handy reference copied from the AHA website…

Your blood pressure is recorded as two numbers:

Systolic blood pressure (the first number) indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls when the heart contracts.

Diastolic blood pressure (the second number)

indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls while the heart muscle is resting between contractions.

Typically, more attention is given to systolic blood pressure (the first number) as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease for people over 50. In most people, systolic blood pressure rises steadily with age due to the increasing stiffness of large arteries, long-term buildup of plaque, and an increased incidence of cardiac and vascular disease.

However, either an elevated systolic or an elevated diastolic blood pressure reading may be used to make a diagnosis of high blood pressure.

Here are my thoughts on this subject…

I’ve been diagnosed with Heart Disease (High Cholesterol) and occasional Hypertension (borderline) as well as non-acute seizures. None of this is particularly disturbing. You don’t reach age 70 without having something go off the rails physically. I can still bicycle, hike, and ski, so I have nothing to complain about I’m also learning not to use the word really in every other sentence, as in “I have nothing to really complain about.”

I also have an artificial Aortic Valve. That’s an interesting case. At age 64 it was discovered I was born with a bifurcated Aortic Valve. That means I have only two “leaves” in my valve instead of the normal three. This caused a “bypass” of blood each time my heart contracted, amounting to a less efficient pumping machine. It may have been discovered earlier and was ignored, I don’t really know. I suspect that is the case because I believe this condition is one that doctors prefer to treat later in life because of the risks inherent in surgery and the longevity of artificial heart valves — they have to be replaced on the order of every 10 years.

I try not to think about the long-term implications of all this. I may not live to celebrate my 100th birthday with younger members of the “70 Plus Ski Club.” Needless to say, that is my goal. It’s a matter of wait-and-ski. In the meantime, I’m following my doctor’s orders, really.