Hi. Does anybody know what it means if the systolic value is considerably lower than the diastole when measuring your blood pressure (almost reverse values)? Can it be a fault with the (electronic) blood-pressure measuring device? I can’t imagine these values to be biologically possible, unless the heart is pumping in reverse or something … Thanks! :?
thats sounds impossible
for your blood pressure when the heart is resting to be higher than when it is pumping
your heart cannot pump backwards or better said maybe… it cannot reverse the direction of blood flow and if it did you would die of asphixia… there are values in your veins and artieries to stop this
Get it checked again
What’s “healthy” in terms of blood pressure levels?
American Heart Association recommended blood pressure levels
Systolic less than 120
Diastolic less than 80
Here’s more info from U. of Maryland Medical
two things
the difference between the systolic value and diastole value… the larger the value the harder the heart is pumping. but if the value is too much then this is not good either … if it is too low it means your heart muscles may be weak or not working correclty
High blood pressure is when the pressure is greater than 140/90 mmHg
My bp is typically at about 115-120/65, which, I’ve been told is healthy…
Thanks everybody for the input! I have found a site that states that such values might be the result of releasing the pressure-sleeve or cuff or what ever it’s called too quickly, this site referred to manual bp-measuring tools though, maybe our machine is just bust. At least I’m healthy according to the AHA-figures Richardm posted - when the measurement yields normal resuts, I usually get around 100/60. Thanks!
That doesn’t sound good, What you describe usually comes with other symptons, like death or decomposition. Do you have any of those ?
On a related note, my former employer sent me to a local hospital for a health check-up and the doctor expressed concern because my heart appeared to be enlarged, which he stated was a bad thing, and he scheduled further tests. Ultimately he concluded that my heart was not enlarged and nothing was wrong, but I did some Internet research.
It seemed odd to me that an enlarged heart should be a bad thing. If this is the muscle that pumps blood through one’s veins, a larger heart should be stronger and better. After all, the value of aerobic exercise is supposed to be what it does for ones lungs and heart. Sure enough, my research revealed that athletes often have enlarged hearts and in such a case it is a good thing. I used to be fairly athletic before my life was transformed to constant drudgery behind a computer, so I prefer to believe that if my heart really were enlarged that would be the reason.
But based on this doctor’s waffling, and his failure to explain that it could be either good or bad, I have no confidence in his opinion and maybe on my next trip back home I might consult with a doctor who actually knows what he’s talking about.
Mother Theresa, what the doc told you wasn’t necessarily wrong. I used to run marathon and do triathlon, and when I stopped rather abruptly due to my life taking its normal course, i.e. job, career, marriage, kids … I developed a slight arrhythmia which, according to our family doc’s diagnosis after a long-term electrocardiogram luckily was benign (the heart-rate stabilised when the heart had to pump harder) and he advised me to “ease” out of it rather than stopping alltogether and if possible keep a certain level of training. One result if this “ease-out” approach is not followed apparently can be that your suddenly inactive massive heart muscle simply becomes fat and turns into a danger to itself … any medics out there who can maybe put this into more elaborate words?
Didn’t “Pharlap” (a famous Aussie racehorse) have an enlarged heart?
Seemed to be perfectly healthy for the Australian environment, but poor old Pharlap reacted rather badly to the conditions in America…
Big Babou:
I thought Phar Lap was poisoned by the yanks? 
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/pharlap/
For the big hearted folk out there, the medical term is cardiomegaly. It can mean lots or nothing at all. However the lots are wortt looking into as the possibilities involve all age groups and medical backgrounds.
HG
Enlarged heart (cardiomegaly)
A medical term that ends in -megaly indicates abnormal enlargement of an organ. Cardiomegaly refers to enlargement of the heart.
Many different conditions and diseases may cause an enlarged heart. These include:
High blood pressure
Heart valve damage
Inflammation of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
Severe anemia
Underactive or overactive thyroid (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism)
Excessive iron in the body (hemochromatosis)
Abnormal buildup of protein in an organ (amyloidosis)
An enlarged heart may cause no symptoms and may only be detected incidentally on a chest X-ray. An X-ray may suggest cardiomegaly. But a doctor can confirm a diagnosis by an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram).
Depending on the underlying cause, an enlarged heart may lead to:
Congestive heart failure
Heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmia)
Fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) may give the appearance of a large heart on an X-ray. Treatment of an enlarged heart depends on the underlying cause.
Thanks HG. I guess it’s time for another physical.