I first learned I had high blood pressure by attending a corporate blood drive event for the Red Cross in my early 30s. My whole department participated, each of us meeting the friendly nurse that reminded you of your grandma until she asked you all sorts of very specific questions about risky practices you might have engaged in.
Next they sent you off for a pre-check. This is where they took my blood pressure and told me that they could not possibly stick a needle in me as they would be unable to get the blood off the ceiling! And so I found myself doing the walk of shame past my co-workers unfit to give blood, knowing that same nurse had just asked them all the same questions she asked me…
To say I was shocked and horrified would be understatement, even for an Englishman. Somehow, I had absolutely no idea that I was overweight, unfit and unhealthy. The power of self-delusion is incredible. But while you can convince your own mind of almost anything, your body, ultimately, is the living truth of your lifestyle.
My response was immediate; I joined a gym on the way home that evening, immediately stopped drinking coffee, and started the Weight Watchers point-based diet scheme. It took me three days of disabling headaches to realize I was going through caffeine withdrawal. I have never experienced anything quite like that before. It was brutal, and I do not envy anyone going cold turkey – but I stuck with it. Eighteen months later, I had lost some weight, was marginally stronger, had competed in a 5K run without totally embarrassing myself, and my blood pressure was measuring high-normal. Job done; revert to standard process…
Ten years later, heavier, softer and weaker than ever, I was not particularly surprised to learn that my blood pressure was again very high, this time justifying medication and quarterly check-ups.
After three months with no real improvement, I was hooked up to a machine for 24×7 monitoring and spent a day walking around like a cyborg with tubes and wires wrapped around me, and a battery pack slung over my shoulder. The cuff inflated every 15 minutes day and night, which did nothing for my sleep and, predictably, the meds were increased. This is when I started to get the horror stories of diabetes, stroke and blindness.
Probably for a year, I went along with this before I started to make the non chemical changes that are the real key to solving high blood pressure. I dropped 30KG (66lbs) over 2.5 years, initially just by reducing sugar and alcohol, later by going full-on Paleo including pretty serious weight training and running. When my doctor gave me a clean bill of health and cut my meds, she told me that she had expected me to be on them for the rest of my life. No thank you!
Another ten years later, I have gained back half of that weight. It is a lot more muscle than first time around, but am 5KGs (12lbs) heavier than I really want to be. That said, my blood pressure is absolutely fine. I use an Aktiia 24×7 optical blood pressure monitor, plus monthly readings with a standard home monitor to ensure I am not slipping. If I ever do get a blood pressure spike, I can actually feel it in my face and temples, but it only really happens on a heavy squat session or a stressful meeting after a lousy night’s sleep.
This, I think, is noteworthy. When you are prescribed blood pressure medication, you get fairly generic advice to:
- Lose Weight
- Exercise
- Manage Stress
- Reduce Salt consumption
- Cut coffee…
A lot of that advice was not easily actionable until I invested a lot of time and energy learning some foundation in nutrition and exercise.
Yes, my blood pressure improvement correlated to my weight loss, but stayed good after having gained half of it back again. When I reflect on the Weight Watchers Points and Paleo lifestyle comparison, I don’t believe that “losing weight” is the whole, or even the main, answer.
I do eat pretty low carb (150-200g / day on 2800-3100 calorie diet). I exercise and move a lot. I have learned some stress management controls – work with effective people, plan ahead for negative outcomes, keep things simple. Add playing with a dog and daughters into the stress management mix and suddenly the molehills are no longer always mountains.
Probably the biggest change though, is sleep. I used to be up late coding, playing video games or watching movies. Six hours sleep was a lot, usually disturbed by sugar or coffee.
It is not easy to improve sleep. All the recommendations about having a cool, dark room, comfortable bed, avoiding stimulants etc. are valid, but it has taken me years to get to the point where I can drift off for a solid 7.5 hours and wake up fresh.
One shocker for me what that I did not really know what a comfortable bed was. (I know this sounds dumb but that makes it worth sharing.) A couple of years ago I tweaked my lower back doing a heavy deadlift, round about the time we were shopping for a new mattress. I ended up talking to a big, heavy salesman who understood what big, heavy guys needed in a mattress better than I did. We ended up getting separate his and her mattresses and I have slept better than ever on an almost rock-hard mattress.
The newer fitness trackers will give you some indication of sleep quality – I do not pay very much attention to that, but resting heart rate, and changes in heart rate variability are easy and immediate indicators if you messed something up the previous night – paying attention to that, and reflecting on what you did continues to steer improvements.
Caveman Musings 
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