Pulse pressure is a measurement relative to blood pressure and can be used by your doctor as a tool to help diagnose certain conditions. Both a high pulse pressure and a low pulse pressure are strong indications of heart trouble, Dr. Sheldon Sheps writes for MayoClinic.com. Engaging regularly in an aerobic exercise such as jogging can lower blood pressure readings and reduce the threat of high pulse pressure.
Pulse Pressure
When your heart contracts, it pushes with enough force to send blood out of the heart into the body's circulation. This force applies pressure against the walls of the arteries and can be measured. Its numerical value is interpreted as the systolic blood pressure, or the top number of your blood pressure reading. When your heart is at rest, the blood that is still contained the blood vessels places tension against the walls of the vessels; if not the vessels would collapse. This tension can also be measured; the value is termed diastolic pressure, the bottom number of your blood pressure reading. The pulse pressure is the mathematical difference between the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure. For example, if your blood pressure reading was 110/70 millimeters of mercury, abbreviated mmHg, your pulse pressure would be 40 mmHg.
Abnormalities
When you are at rest, a systolic pressure above 120 mmHg or below 100 mmHg or a diastolic pressure above 80 mmHg or below 60 mmHg are out of the normal range, and you should alert your doctor if she is not in fact taking the readings herself --- if you are measuring at home, for example. If, when you are at rest, your pulse pressure is lower than 40 mmHg, it may be a sign of poor heart function, Sheps warns, or aortic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the inner passage of the main artery of the body. If the pulse pressure is higher than 40 mmHg, you might have valve regurgitation, which means that the heart valves are leaking. Your doctor may be able to detect these abnormal conditions early and offer treatment.
Lifestyle
According to the American Heart Association, a lifestyle including regular physical activity coupled with controlled amount of calories, fat, sodium and cholesterol can result in healthy blood pressure. Reducing the amount of adipose tissue stored in the body lowers the levels of fatty lipids accumulated in the blood, and may slow or eliminate hardening of the arteries and aortic stenosis. Jogging is an aerobic exercise that involves the heart and lungs. If performed regularly and with your doctor's approval, aerobic exercise may hinder the development of or favorably affect the recovery from these types of conditions and maintain proper pulse pressure readings.
Contraindications
If your resting blood pressure is 210/110 mmHg --- which would give you a pulse pressure of 100 mmHg --- you should not attempt to exercise and must seek medical attention, diabetes educator and exercise specialist Kristina Sandstedt writes for the National Federation of the Blind in an article discussing the effects of exercise for those suffering from diabetes and coronary artery disease. If you are jogging and your systolic pressure exceeds 260 mmHg or your diastolic pressure tops 120 mmHg, you should stop jogging and seek medical attention immediately. In either case, Sandstedt warns, the possibility of having a heart attack or stroke would be extremely high.
References
- American Heart Association; Physical Activity and Blood Pressure; April 13, 2011
- MayoClinic.com; What Is Pulse Pressure? How Important Is Pulse Pressure to Your Overall Health?; Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.; Dec. 17, 2010
- "Circulation"; Pulse Pressure Response to a Standard Exercise Stress; G.H. Heidorn; 1958
- National Federation of the Blind; Diabetes and Heart Disease: How Exercise is Effective at Managing Both; Kristina Sandstedt
