QuestionHello:
I am a 74 year old male in excellent health except for the recent onset of borderline high blood pressure - 140/165-65/80. My doctor has put me on Norvasc and Lisinopril which do not seem to make any difference in my blood pressure level. I am not concerned about my pressure because I have always done well on all tests of my cardio-vascular system. I suspect that my blood pressure level is probably normal for a healthy 74 year old U. S. male but I cannot find any statistics on what is normal for my age group. Do you have anything that provides that information - or can you steer me to possible sources on the internet?
Thanks for any help.
AnswerDear J. Norvill, Unfortunately, there will not be any NORMAL blood pressure information out there for different age groups or male or female break down....
Blood pressure readings are based totally on the general population which includes children and older adults as well as all of those in the middle....
Your doctor was VERY WISE to put you on blood pressure medication.... With readings of 140-165 for the top reading this is HIGH.... Infact new studies regarding blood pressure NO longer consider 140 as borderline, but instead this reading is now considered HIGH....
As a person ages, the arteries and blood vessels in the body also age.... Just because you have "always done well" on your cardio-vascular tests does not mean that your arteries and blood vessels are not diseased or damaged.... It just means that the disease or damage is not significant enough for you to FAIL those tests....
If your medication that the doctor put you on is NOT LOWERING your blood pressure, then you need to tell the doctor this so either a large doseage can be prescribed or your medication can be changed to something else.... It is common for different blood pressure medications NOT to work for EVERYONE.... Therefore, your doctor will have to experiment with the BP meds. to see which one will work the best for you....
Thank you, karen
