Dealing with BP

Batting Practice? The fuel people? Nope. I'm sorry to say............blood pressure. Remember when I went to the doctor to have the pain in my side checked out? Well, a by-product of my going was the nurse saying, "Geez, your blood pressure is kinda high--the doctor will check it again when she comes in." Uh oh.

You see, apparently the hearts in our family came out of the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. I don't know what it is, but I've essentially got double-whammys on both sides of my family to point to the need to take the utmost care of my heart. My maternal grandfather died of a massive heart attack at age 59. Maternal grandmother has had a couple of very mild heart attacks. Paternal grandparents both had heart surgeries, replaced valves, etc. Dad's brother died at age 45 after a heart attack. Dad has high blood pressure. Good thing I don't smoke cigarettes like my brot....never mind.

So the doctor says that they don't prescribe any meds on the first visit, and to track it for a couple of weeks and then come back with the results. Oops. Being that I don't live with a nurse, and most of my time consists of working and sleeping, I just haven't found, er, made, the opportunity to do so. Then some friends and coworkers suggested a home blood pressure monitor. Seems like a good idea, and I really do need to get it taken care of. So I bought it this morning (a Kroger-branded one made by those fine folks at Omron). The first reading? 152 / 106. Ouch. That's not THAT bad, is it?! OK, maybe it is. But being that I have a son/daughter on the way, the last thing I wanna do is be in poor health. It's not about me anymore. So stay tuned, and I commit to all friends, family, loved ones, and loyal blog readers to "stay the course" (thousand points of light) and report progress in the near future.

And by the way, free blood pressure checks at my house. Call before you come.