Blood pressure monitors

[Janne]

The problem with the ‘family history’ bit is that you know 100% who your mother is, but you can not be sure 100% who your father is.

Statistics say around 1 in 25 have a different father than they think. Different % in different counties of course.

 

[santaman2000]

I never had the poo test and don't know if it's done here or not. This is the first time I've heard of it.

CDC recommendations for all testing are available on their website and pretty easy for anybody to look up on a home PC. Their recomendations for me (regarding the colonoscopy) are still only every 10 years since my uncle isn't considered immediate family. That said, the surgeon that does mine isn't comfortable with them being that far apart so he simply sent his grounds to the insurance (Tri-Care in my case) and had no problem getting it approved. A different doctor (less diligent) or a different insurance (more stubborn) might have had a different result.

 

[santaman2000]

The problem with the ‘family history’ bit is that you know 100% who your mother is, but you can not be sure 100% who your father is.

Statistics say around 1 in 25 have a different father than they think. Different % in different counties of course.

Maybe. But whether it's your biological father or not, the one that raised you will be the one that has the most influence on your diet and lifestyle (both also factors in many of the ailments we've been discussing)

 

[Janne]

For sure, but our DNA is a huge factor.

 

[Paul_B]

However it would be a brave doctor to assume your father isn't your real father and deny treatment on a 4% risk you've got a parentage different from what is believed in your family history.

Imagine the conversation when that happens!

Then lawsuit when patient gets genetic test proving parentage. They're pretty cheap to do these days I believe.

Then again it's not an issue with me. There's certain familial traits among the male side in our family which are both distinctive and commonly found. I've got them in spades. Put it this way, when moving up this way (as an adult but at the same sort of time as my parents) we all signed on at the end doctor. I was late in doing this so the gp and practise nurse had seen my dad a few times already. I turned up and they both made comments along the lines of "well I know so you are Mr XXXXXX, you're just like your dad!" both gp and nurse said similar.

However I won't take offence at you questioning my parentage! Enough who know me have done that before!

I heard in European royalty the figure was actually 15% and UK general population of was 5%. A bit higher for the UK perhaps! If you consider the rumours about UK royalty you could accept that high rate of cuckoos in European royalty. However there's history of ginger haired royalty through the generations so personally I feel it's unfair and untrue in the case I'm thinking of.

 

[Paul_B]

I have a more on topic question.

Does BP change with activity. I'm not talking quite like HR going up during exercise. Keep mean if you measured straight after exercise or after a long rest before exercise would the readings be significantly different?

I know if I get up suddenly and go upstairs quickly I feel BP effects, sometimes strongly. Add in urination (not linked to the sudden getting up I might add) it's even more noticeable. It got me wondering about very short term changes due to activities. I guessing this effect is why you need a trend in several samples rather than a single or very few samples.

Personally I'm tempted by a BP monitor. I've only tested at stress locations like doctors (hospital) and parent's place. The higher measure is usually a bit higher than I'd like.

 

[Nomad64]

Personally I'm tempted by a BP monitor. I've only tested at stress locations like doctors (hospital) and parent's place. The higher measure is usually a bit higher than I'd like.

Paul, if you are sufficiently concerned about your BP to make ten or so mostly lengthy posts on this thread, the information (both anecdotal and from professionals) others have given both to you and the OP should surely be enough for you make a decision - the needle on my B(ushcraft) (P)rocrastination Monitor is currently reading off the scale!

Good luck and may you and all your family enjoy good health during 2018 and beyond!

 

[Paul_B]

It's in my nature, sorry!

I'm tight as a duck's behind with spending on myself and I like to know easy too much about any purchase I make for myself. Plus I suspect I've got personality defects applying here too.

Once again, sorry for going on. I'll shut up now.

 

[Nomad64]

It's in my nature, sorry!

I'm tight as a duck's behind with spending on myself and I like to know easy too much about any purchase I make for myself. Plus I suspect I've got personality defects applying here too.

Once again, sorry for going on. I'll shut up now.

No problems - I recognise the symptoms all to well!

Just trying to give you a gentle nudge in the JFDI direction.

As you will have seen from my earlier post, having a BPM/HRM helped identify an issue for me that although not as it turned out life threatening (although if not back into synch. fairly quickly, the churning of blood in the heart caused by atrial fibrillation can increase the risk of a stroke - happily IIRC, I scored “zero” on whatever scale they use to measure stroke risk which was nice to know), certainly had the medics jumping around for a bit.

I’m not a medic but it makes sense to me that regularly recording your BP and HR under controlled conditions at home (or at the end of your walk, run, ride etc. to work), is more likely to identify changes worthy of following up than a reading at random conditions and intervals at your GPs.

 

[Allans865]

Hi all,

Bought one of these from my local lidl yesterday.

Download the app on to your phone as well and it stores and tracks your BP.

My better half, who is a healthcare professional and takes BPs as part of her job reckons its a brilliant monitor for the money.

I thoroughly recommend this...similar monitors are going for £60 on Amazon.

Hurry though, I got the last one in my local shop!

All the best,
Allan

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Paul_B]

My dad had that then got an omron IIRC.

 

[Allans865]

My dad had that then got an omron IIRC.

We're going to take it into her work over the weekend and do a few tests against the pro one, to see how it compares.

I'm optimistic that it will be good, as it is made in Germany, and most things manufactured there are.

And it has a 3 year guarantee, which I think is pretty good.

All the best,
Allan

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[santaman2000]

Do other factors such as exercise affect BP? Of course. Exercise will raise it, as will the excitement surrounding some forms of exercise (such as racing or competitive sports) but in most healthy people it should return to normal after 10 minutes rest. It should generally be lower shortly after getting up in the morning than it is later in the day but that's not universally true. Will urination affect it? Well, sorta/maybe. The urination in and of itself is irrelevant but the pain/discomfort caused by holding it in can raise BP (and it should correspondingly lower when that pain/discomfort goes away after you relieve yourself.

 

[Janne]

You guys want to live forever?
Science is working on finding cures for cancers, heart related issues and the myriad of other issues that results in us dying.
The states are trying to make our lives safer by legislating usage of helmets, airbags, seatbelts and other safety things.

But, die we must do.....
Enjoy life while you are healthy! And enjoy it even more when your health starts going down!

 

[Paul_B]

I'm starting to think that we're reaching the point where living longer isn't worth it. If you live to 200 but most of them you've not got your facilities in or your body isn't willing then what's the point?

I want to be physically active until I'm 90 then die after a great day in the lakeland fells. Close enough to the carpark to be found quickly and easy to be recovered. I know someone who died on top of a hill and MRT had to be called. Die doing what you love but without putting others to too much trouble.

PS this thread is sounding a little hypochondriac in nature. That's what I feel like when I discuss getting a BP monitor.

Lowering of BP with urination is actually linked to a condition and low BP. It could be related to a condition where your BP drops suddenly and hr doesn't rise much even with exercise. I've read about it on another forum and a link posted there but can't remember the details.

 

[Janne]

90? Make it 75. From what I have seen of thousands of patients, that is about the age when something goes to hell.
Any year above that is a bonus!
But those are major issues, small issues start popping up around 55 or 60.

Checking various bodily functions yourself can only make you worried.
With BP, when I studied medicine close to 40 years ago, the acceptablel BP was 100 + your age over (max) 90.
So for a 50 year old, 150/90 was ok.
Then they discovered they could flog tablets and make money, so now they want everybody to be around 110/70 or so.

 

[MartinK9]

Hi all,

Bought one of these from my local lidl yesterday.

Download the app on to your phone as well and it stores and tracks your BP.

My better half, who is a healthcare professional and takes BPs as part of her job reckons its a brilliant monitor for the money.

I thoroughly recommend this...similar monitors are going for £60 on Amazon.

Hurry though, I got the last one in my local shop!

All the best,
Allan

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

I have that one, it is designed for left arm only. I take all my readings then at the Drs they use my right arm.....

 

[Janne]

You just put it on the other arm?? When placed it makes a 'tube'. If the tube is on right or left arm matters not.

 

[santaman2000]

@ Janne; That 100 + your age thing is the same thing one doctor told me not too long ago.

I agree that more focus should be put on improving the quality of life than merely prolonging it. That said, early detection of health issues (including high BP) can help with quality issues as well.

@ Paul B: I too fantasize about eventually dying doing something I love. It could involve an outdoor activity such as you describe, or it could be at home surrounded by family and loved ones.

 

[Paul_B]

I met someone a few months before it happened to them. A woman in her seventies who was still able to run a decent half marathon. Who would look as fresh after a 25 mile walk as at the start. She looked mid fifties, twenty years younger than she actually was. That's the outdoors for you.

I.believe she died from a massive coronary. One of those instant lights out types due to an undetected condition. I've heard of that happening to ppl before but they were all younger.

Then again at that time I was hanging around with a bunch of very fit and active ppl. One did Bob Graham round when late sixties for example.