Hi. I am a 29 year old male 6 foot one inches 200 pounds. I am concerned about high blood pressure but I just need some re-assurance. I already know I have to improve my eating and drinking habits but I'll go like 3 weeks eating like a saint (veggies ,low salt, non fat dairy) then I'll go a few weeks eating lots of fast food and junk while consuming lots of alcohol. All in all I am pretty healthy though. I do not consume caffeine. All my blood work is great along with my cholosterol. There are no signs of heart disease in my family either. I run/walk 5-6 days a week for 40 minutes. Ok here to my numbers. The reason I do not beleive I have high blood pressure is b/c I rarely stay above 140/90. On average here it is - IN the morning (7:30 am)before work I'll take it - I will only be awake like 15 minutes and it will be around 120/75 to 135/85. If I take it before lunch (12:30 pm) it is always between 135-85 to 148-90 this is the same as for after work (5:30 pm). Then at night like 10 pm I see results like the morning. So to me I can see that it usually does not stay above 140/90 so I think I am fine. BUT if I go a weekend of drinking and eating junk food - hey im from philly its in our blood - I will see numbers consistently between 138/87 to - 148/90 for like 2-3 days after. Obviously beer and taco bell affects my BP. Then I settle back into acceptable numbers for me - im cool with an avg of like 132/83. On a random friday I could average 129/81 and then party all weekend then it will average like 143/86 for a few days then go back to an avg of like 132/83 again. I honestly beleive the drug companies just want to scare us and put every one on meds to make profits. trust me I work for a fortune 100 company - its true. What i am really asking is that despite my mid-day and afternoon numbers being higher my morning and evening numbers are OK so to me it is not concistently above 140/90 thus I don't have high blood pressure. even for my entire 8 work day if the numbers were like 145-85 but in the morning and night they came downI beleive I would be fine. I will start sticking to my low salt less alcohol diet too. I know I have some work to do and I hope to on average be under 130/85, I realize that everyone is different and 120/80 is not the norm for everyone. thanks!! please let me know your opinions

IMHO you are young to have numbers so high. Blood pressure tends to rise as you get older. If you try the lifestyle changes and your levels stay in the 120's you should be ok, but if not, consult your Dr.

Lenny,

Try cutting the beer, a lot of it will raise BP. Taco's and Cheese Steaks are very high salt and will also drive it up.
Take a couple readings every night after sitting quietly for 5 minutes and average them out...if a month of numbers averages over 140 or 90 it's hypertension and should probably be treated soon.

Like wired said, it tends to go up as we age so the signs are good that if you are getting an average like 135/85 you will soon be over the top. Keep an eye on it if it;s in this level.

There's no need to rush to the pills though...a lifetime of them isn't the rosiest picture.

Try dropping 10 or 15 pounds...weight loss pays blood pressure dividends. And stopping drinking (I know, it's tough) pays huge dividends after about 90 days, from personal experience.