Follows is my horrible hourly average Diastolic Blood Pressure chart for 1999. The non-dipping nature of my Blood Pressure was quite obvious during 1999, but neither myself nor my doctors connected the pattern to a dysfunctional metabolism or Insulin Resistance and I kept getting worse. Not that I can really blame my doctors. I continued to drink beer and was on a very unhealthy diet. No one could tell me, back in 1999, that, all I had to do to greatly improve my health, and have a chance to survive Heart Failure, with a good quality of life, was to eat a healthy diet! I probably would not have listened. I did not want to change from a fun lifestyle and fun diet, to a healthy, restricted diet.

Believe it or not, I was feeling OK, except for during the evening hours, when my symptoms would get a lot worse. So, I wasn't panicking. Plus my Cardiologist was telling me that I was doing fine.

I kept experimenting with my meds, and kept looking for, and eliminating things (triggers) that would cause increases in my blood pressure. Through the elimination of triggers and changes to my meds, my blood pressure averages for 1999 were improved over 1998, but still bad. I did not really realize that I was slowly getting worse.

1999 Average Hourly Diastolic Blood Pressure

Hr ________70________80________90_______100

01 ___________________________________*
02 _____________________________*
03 ______________________________*
04 ______________________________*
05 _______________________________*
06 ________________________________*
07 __________________________________*
08 ____________________________________*
09 _________________________________*
10 _____________________________*
11 _________________________*
12 __________________________*
13 ____________________________*
14 _______________________________*
15 ________________________________*
16 ________________________________*
17 ______________________________*
18 ____________________________*
19 ____________________________*
20 ______________________________*
21 _________________________________*
22 ____________________________________*
23 ____________________________________*
24 ______________________________________*


Besides the non-dipping nature of the chart for 1999, does anyone else notice another obvious pattern? There is a basic pattern to the chart and an explanation for the pattern. Can anyone guess what was causing the obvious chart pattern?

Thought that I would provide an update, showing my average blood pressure chart for the months of October and November, 2009. Most of the significant improvement in my formally chronically high blood pressure, has been through my diet of small calorie, high fiber, frequent feeding, high quality meals.

I've been able to cut my blood pressure medications down to only Coreg 6.25mg, once per day. That's it. That's all!

I've got Heart Failure, Atrial Fibrillation, Asthma, Immune System Dysfunction, Insulin Resistance & Pre-Diabetes and Valve Disease; and yet I can do 150 pushups, weight lifting curls, weight lifting lifts, stationary bike, stepper and two 30 minute power walks per day, and I have great energy and strength, for a guy close to 70. If I can greatly improve my health through diet, than ANYONE can!

It wasn't always this good. Back in 2003-2004, I was pouring down the beer, and stuffing my face with all kinds of high calorie, unhealthy foods, and doing no exercise.

In other words, I was doing absolutely NOTHING to help myself battle chronic High Blood Pressure, Atrial Fibrillation, Insulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes and Heart Failure. I did not believe in diet, or exercise. I'm just glad that I didn't wait too long to change my ways, and that I was able to turn around these dreadful, nasty, debilitating, life-threatening diseases.

I take .25mg Digoxin for my Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure, and Asthma/Sinus meds, and Warfarin to protect against clots. That's it! I've never taken any meds for Pre-Diabetes or Insulin Resistance. What's the secret? DIET!!!

The following chart shows my recent, October and November 2009 healthy Diastolic BP range, starting at the Diastolic level of 61, beginning at 1am and running 24 hours until midnight.

The numbers represent hour 01 thru hour 24, or 1am thru 12am.

To help to read the chart, the average Diastolic reading at 1am was 67. At 2am the reading was 67. At 7pm (19) the Diastolic was 71.

The lowest hour's average, 62, was at 10pm (22). The highest hour's average, 81, was at 4pm (16).

I just wanted to show how even healthy BP varied during the day, and it's easier to see the pattern thru a chart, no matter how primitive.

Hr ________70________80________90

01 ______*
02 ______*
03 _______*
04 ______*
05 ____*
06 ______*
07 ___*
08 ____________*
09 ___________*
10 _________*
11 ______________*
12 __________*
13 ______________*
14 ________________*
15 __________________*
16 _____________________*
17 _________________*
18 _______________*
19 ____________*
20 ______________*
21 ____________*
22 __*
23 _____*
24 _____*

The following is a chart showing my annual average Blood Pressure from 1998 through 2009, with the top heading starting at the Diastolic level of 59, the chart beginning in 1998 and ending in 2009.

To help to read the chart, the average Diastolic reading for all of 1998 was 97. For 1999, the average Diastolic Blood Pressure was 92. For 2008, the average Diastolic was 72.

I started dieting in the middle of 2004, without knowing anything about diet. It evolved into a low calorie, frequent feeding, high fiber, small meal diet targeting Insulin Resistance in December 2004.

The effects of diet on my average Blood Pressure are obvious, by looking at the dip in average Diastolic Blood Pressure starting in 2004, and going lower each and every following year, until it leveled out in 2007.


yr 60_______70________80________90_______10 0

1998 ____________________________________* (97)
1999 _______________________________* (92)
2000 _______________________________* (92)
2001 _______________________________* (92)
2002 __________________________________* (96)
2003 __________________________________* (96)
2004 ____________________________* (90)
2005 ________________________* (86)
2006 ________________* (79)
2007 ___________* (74)
2008 _________* (72)
2009 _________* (72)