Blood pressure hit 150 over 95 on this blast, what are you actually using to bring it back down?

the thing that moved my numbers most was donating blood, dropped my hematocrit a few points and the pressure came down with it. eq and test together thicken the blood up more than people realise and that alone pushes the reading. before you reach for any meds get a proper cuff and take it seated and rested at the same time for a week, one reading after a workout or a coffee tells you nothing. if it still sits at 150 over 95 after donating, sorting your hydration and adding some zone 2 cardio then honestly the dose is too high for you right now. dropping test 200mg a week isnt failure, sustained pressure like that is what thickens the heart wall over the years.

Listen to the lads in here. Get your bloods done, donate if your hematocrit is up, and do the cardio. Your heart is not worth a couple of extra pounds on the bar. We want you around training for a long time yet.

First thing I would check is your hematocrit before reaching for anything else. Test and EQ both thicken the blood and a donation often drops the reading a few points on its own. After that it is the boring stuff that actually moves the number, steady state cardio 4 or 5 times a week at 130 to 140 bpm, cut the sodium right back and sort your hydration. Do not panic off one reading either, take it seated and rested at the same time over a few days, post workout spikes are not your real baseline. If it still sits at 150 over 95 after all that then telmisartan is the ARB most guys here run, but that needs a doctor, and if even that does not hold it the dose is just too high for you right now and dropping test 200mg is not a failure.

Telmisartan is the one worth trying if you haven't already - 40mg daily and for most guys it's night and day compared to nothing. Doesn't blunt gains at all which is why the community keeps coming back to it over beta blockers. That said, donation and steady state cardio moved my reading more than any med did in the first two weeks, so worth running all three together rather than going one thing at a time and waiting to see.

Good thread to have pinned. The hematocrit point is the one most members skip over too quickly - a blood donation can move resting blood pressure more than people expect, sometimes 10 points on its own. Worth doing before reaching for medication.

Getting hematocrit under control sorted the bulk of it for me. Donated at around week 8 on my last EQ run and dropped the resting BP almost 10 points in a fortnight. People focus on medication first and skip the basics. Steady state cardio 4 to 5 sessions a week at 130 to 140 bpm is not glamorous but it does more for blood pressure than most people give it credit for, especially when you stack it with cutting sodium back and actually hitting your water intake.

Before reaching for any meds get your hematocrit checked, high test and EQ thicken the blood and that alone pushes the reading up, a single donation dropping you 3 or 4 points often takes the pressure down on its own. Hydration is the other free lever, one bloke on here went from 53 to under 50 on water intake alone. If you have donated, sorted hydration and put zone 2 cardio in 4 or 5 times a week and it is still parked at 150 over 95 then the dose is too high for you right now, dropping 200 a week is the smart move not a failure.

One thing that gets missed in these threads is how much the hematocrit side drives the reading. Mine sat at 150 over 90 last blast, donated and dropped it 4 points and the pressure came back to 135 over 85 on its own without touching the dose. Get the donation in first, sort hydration and steady zone 2 cardio, then look at telmisartan if the number is still stubborn. If you have done all that and it is still parked at 150 over 95 then the dose is simply too high for your heart right now and pulling 200mg off the test is not a failure.

Good thread this. Get your hematocrit checked before anything else, a blood donation sorts more guys out than they expect. If the number stays up after that, pull the dose back, no blast is worth your heart.

Not going to repeat what has been said which I also used as product.
Another tools that you can add:
-proper water intake
-baby aspirine preworkout
-light cardio
-3-4g Omega 3

Good additions, the omega 3 and steady cardio do more than people give them credit for. The one I would put at the top of that list is getting your hematocrit checked and donating if it has crept up, thick blood drives the pressure as much as the water does and a donation often drops the reading on its own. Aspirin helps a bit with the viscosity side but it will not touch a high hematocrit, that needs the donation. If it is still sitting at 150 over 95 after all that then telmisartan is the one most lads here end up on since it does not blunt gains the way the beta blockers can.

Good discussion here. One thing worth adding, get your hematocrit checked alongside the BP readings. Thick blood from a high red cell count drives the pressure up, and a blood donation often brings both back into line. Take the readings seated and rested over a few days though, a single high number straight after training isnt your real baseline.

Before you reach for any meds get your hematocrit checked. High test and EQ thicken the blood and that on its own pushes the reading up, a donation often knocks it back a few points without doing anything else. And stop reading one number off the cuff straight after a session, take it seated and rested same time of day over 4 or 5 days and look at the average, that is your real baseline. If it is still parked at 150/95 after donating, sorting hydration and steady cardio, then telmisartan is the one most lads here run because it doesnt blunt gains, but get a doctor monitoring you on it.