Healthy young male, high blood pressure?!

Lose 20 more pounds and make sure you're eat ing a low sodium diet per your own suggestions

bob29887...NO!...Do NOT go on bp medication unless absolutely necessary!!!!

You said your bp readings are 130/80.....that's not bad really...but if it were to climb, I'd be asking questions. 

Check your stress levels...don't eat processed foods, nor foods high in salt content. Keep on yiour exercise regime. Binge drinking...count down on that too. 

Don't compare yourself with others. We are all different.

Please let us know how you get on.

Bob NO do not put yourself on medication .. the guidelines 120/80 have been changed and will probably change again.. AGAIN it's only a guideline and we are all different don't fall for the hype that one size fits all..  Eat healthy and stay active.. good health to you..

Bob, I'm with the others.  With a BP in the 130's/80 you have little to worry about so don't condemn yourself to a lifetime of drugs at this stage but just monitor your BP from time to time to ensure that it remains stable.  And check that you haven't got any other health risks along the way, ie cholesterol, blood sugar, family history etc.

Depending on exactly what you mean by eating "relatively healthy", then keep that up, at the same time remembering that you need to avoid salt (it's hidden in places you wouldn't expect!).  Salt is especially high in processed foods such as ham, sausages, ready-made meals, tinned foods.  Avoid too much caffeine and drink plenty of water.  Sorry to be a party pooper, but binge drinking is not good at any time.  

Hi Bob, I agree totally with all the other views on here. 130s/80 is just high normal and there's plenty you can do to keep it from going any higher, or even bring it down a notch without resorting to medication. I'd be amazed if your doctor even suggested the latter.

Salt reduction is usually key to reducing BP, as is carb reduction - especially sugar. Fizzy drinks are the worst offenders in this area. I can't figure out why you think you might need to go vegan. There's no evidence that meat eating has any influence on BP either way, though it's not good to eat processed meats too often (salt again plus other additives). It's junk food that poses the highest risk, as it's packed with all the things that raise BP - unhealthy fats, salt and sugar (even in savoury dishes). That doesn't mean you can't indulge in the occasional takeaway, but try and eat healthily the rest of the time.

And I'm afraid Mrs. O is right. Binge drinking is no good for you at all. You can actually get away with drinking the same amount as you consume in your two-weekly binges by spreading it out more evenly over the two-week period! A small, regular intake of alcohol of any kind was shown to improve blood pressure in many tests a few years ago - even if the results of these have been suppressed by some panicky governments, notably the UK.

I'm with everyone else too, don't go on medication at that level.  Was the reading a one off in the surgery [white coat??] or did you take it yourself over several days or was it a 24 hr monitor? 

Whatever it was cut out the binge drinking and salt in the diet.  Some would say added sugar too.

You mentioned your weight but not your height? 190 lbs seems a tad high for someone young and active.

Don't worry too much, just pay attention to it. Medication is only considered above 140/90. You're in the 'keep an eye on it' zone.

Get a 24-hour BP monitor from the doc just to be sure.

Don't compare to people with lower readings! I'm 36, 6'' tall, weigh 140-150 lbs, run 2x week for approx. 2 hours each time, active at work, cook most of my own food and use no salt, etc. But my pre-treatment BP was 155/105 (now 125/80). Go figure.

The point about losing weight and leading a healthy lifestyle to lower BP is that these are probably the most common trigger for high BP. For some people, there's different reasons. But at 130/80, there's no need to worry.