Friday, February 29, 2008
Data update for Nov2007 - Feb 2008
I hope this graphic is not too confusing. It is a time series plot of my systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP) for the period Nov 2007 to the end of January 2008. These are measured using a Microlife recording unit that takes 3 readings and then averages them. Readings are normally twice a day in the morning and evening and are taken sitting up with legs horizontal after 2 - 3 minutes rest.
The vivid purple line is the daily pedometer reading, an attempt to measure the daily physical effort. The red line is the maximum SBP on any one day and the blue line is a running average of the previous 5 days' figures - to get some idea of the trends.
you can see that all through November there has been a steady increase in SBP even though the physical effort is reducing - that is until we started our holiday at the beginning of december, boarding a cruise liner in Barcelona and then taking 10 days to sail to Boston. I was feeling pretty good at the beginning of the voyage and spent quite lot of time walking on the exercise deck, a 610 metre circuit. This effort is reflected in the pedometer readings, followed a couple of days later with a real jump in maximum SBP, making me feel much worse - to the extent of eventually checking in with the ship's doctor. He did a quick examination and said the basic pump was OK and the variations were due probably to:-
We landed and then flew to California to stay with some friends, but the increase in average SBP was still a worry - I didn't feel brilliant. I found a local practice in California that had an EECP unit and, having been checked out by their cardiologist, started in on a course of EECP on 10th January, the third in 20 months. This was organised for 2 sessions a day with an interval over lunch of about 2 hours during which I spent some time in coffee bars, etc. You will note that the average SBP did not reduce, even though I felt better and was able to do a lot more walking. ¶ 7:45 pm
I hope this graphic is not too confusing. It is a time series plot of my systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP) for the period Nov 2007 to the end of January 2008. These are measured using a Microlife recording unit that takes 3 readings and then averages them. Readings are normally twice a day in the morning and evening and are taken sitting up with legs horizontal after 2 - 3 minutes rest.The vivid purple line is the daily pedometer reading, an attempt to measure the daily physical effort. The red line is the maximum SBP on any one day and the blue line is a running average of the previous 5 days' figures - to get some idea of the trends.
you can see that all through November there has been a steady increase in SBP even though the physical effort is reducing - that is until we started our holiday at the beginning of december, boarding a cruise liner in Barcelona and then taking 10 days to sail to Boston. I was feeling pretty good at the beginning of the voyage and spent quite lot of time walking on the exercise deck, a 610 metre circuit. This effort is reflected in the pedometer readings, followed a couple of days later with a real jump in maximum SBP, making me feel much worse - to the extent of eventually checking in with the ship's doctor. He did a quick examination and said the basic pump was OK and the variations were due probably to:-
- Change of food and eating too much
- Possible increased salt and/or spices load hidden in exotic dishes
- Changed emotional state
- Drinking more
We landed and then flew to California to stay with some friends, but the increase in average SBP was still a worry - I didn't feel brilliant. I found a local practice in California that had an EECP unit and, having been checked out by their cardiologist, started in on a course of EECP on 10th January, the third in 20 months. This was organised for 2 sessions a day with an interval over lunch of about 2 hours during which I spent some time in coffee bars, etc. You will note that the average SBP did not reduce, even though I felt better and was able to do a lot more walking. ¶ 7:45 pm
