I seem to recall talking about blood pressure on a number of occasions. My graduate academic training was all about cardiorespiratory control systems, so this isn't far from home for me. But I don't recall a discussion quite like you are proposing, so this is probably a good place to start. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
I've talked about this on a number of occasions, but this has often been in response to someone fretting over their baseline health status. Many folks develop hypertension with age. Some of it is genetics, some of it is age related, some of it is related to body weight, some of it is related to the general abuse (pharmeceutical) that you put your body through, some of it is a result of chronic stress, etc, etc.infomation on controling blood pressure
The best things that a person can do to affect baseline blood pressure are:
1) First and foremost, have it checked regularly
2) Keep your weight in an ideal range.
3) Live a stress free existence. Exercise regularly. Stay away from life as a restaurant chef, air-traffic controler, etc. Good luck trying to make a living! Mostly those that can manage their work load are most likely to be able to manage their stress. When you are at the mercy of what comes in the front door of your business, you are vulnerable to the ravages of chronic stress.
4) Don't take medication unless you have to. Even innocent meds like ibuprofen can cause blood pressure increases over time when taken regularly. It's probably a kidney damage thing. Bummer!
5) Don't smoke.
6) Eat a good diet. One supplement in particular that'll keep your bones strong AND keep your blood pressure low is a calcium/magnesium supplement.
7) Consider meditation - stationary or moving. Research shows it's theoretically possible to consciously affect the autonomic nervous system. In practice this is much more difficult, but possible.
8) Don't "Valsalva" (strain while holding your breath. This doesn't affect baseline blood pressure, but it could cause dangerous short-term spikes (while you are doing the Valsalva).
9) If with all that you still have high blood pressure, get a cardiologist to help you with modern pharmacology. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
This is all about the sympathetic nervous system (autonomic control). Part of the fight/flight response is an increase in heart rate, increase in strength of contraction, and an increase in peripheral vascular resistance. This is necessary to get the body ready to dump blood where it is needed if you have to run from the saber-toothed tiger or wrestle an alligator. This system is why you are alive today. At some point, those catecholamines helped your ancestors survive multiple life-threatening events.during the fight blood pressure seems to rise, ways to control that
Short bursts of sympathetic stimulation aren't necessarily a bad thing if they help you escape bad situations. I think the main issue here is the dose/response thing. You don't want to be so overstimulated that you do nothing more than s*** your britches.
How to resolve this? Here's what I recommend. Others can add.
1) Train, practice, then train some more, then practice some more, etc, etc ad nauseum. Being prepared can help stave off the panic attacks.
2) Other than kata, weights, and sparring, it's important to put yourself through scenario training. Here is where you learn to apply your skills while highly stimulated. The more you do, the better you get under these conditions and the better you can manage the stress.
I yield the floor to the other experts. Pardon the typos - gotta go.
- Bill