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For blood pressure, the standard "norm" that is quoted is 120/80. But the poster who said "that is ludicrous, why should we all have the same blood pressure?" is absolutely correct. As with all things, YOU need to be aware of what your vital signs (including blood pressure) are, typically. My blood pressure usually runs "low." When I have it checked routinely (or we checked it in class), it is usually about 90-100 over 60-70. The nurse usually starts to say something about it being low, and I reply that it's always been that way--sometimes they will ask if I get dizzy spells if I stand up quickly, etc.--no, I don't. That really is NORMAL, for me. But recently (after taking baking soda daily for something unrelated) I started having a constant mild-to-moderate headache (for two days); and when I bent over, my head felt VERY full and painful. I suspected my blood pressure was high. I went and had it checked. It came out as 118/81, by their monitor, which they then pronounced as "normal, " of course--but I knew that for me it was definitely elevated. I stopped the baking soda yesterday; the headache is gone and when I bend over, there is still a feeling of excess pressure, but not at the alarming level it was before--so it is improving. The lesson is, you need to know YOUR "normal, " not the "normal" reference range. Many pharmacies will now check your blood pressure (and sometimes other vital signs) for free, so you can just have it checked whenever you stop in for something else and get a sense of what it runs normally. (A further lesson--although many sites will say that "baking soda will not elevate your blood pressure, " I am here to say that it can, at least for some people, so please be careful with it.)
High Blood Pressure Reading Tips
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To Pat from MO: That's a tough one since we are all different. Conventional wisdom will tell you 120/80 is where we all should be which is ridiculous. Why in the world should we all be expected to have the same blood pressure reading? What we need to know is what is normal for us, not scared into thinking we are going to have a stroke if it's not close to those numbers. Blood pressure goes up and it goes down. I wish I had the answers.
