As I’ve discovered over the past weeks, there are several variables that affect blood pressure. I’ve attempted to control for individual potentially causative factors, at the same time as trying to maintain some constants. The first of these is to measure my blood pressure as I wake up every morning, before I’ve ‘got moving’ or consumed any beverages.

I didn’t have this opportunity on Monday. At some point after 4:15, as I was slowly waking up, I heard a loud noise in the roof area, followed by the sound of running water. I dashed out of bed to see if there was already water from the burst geyser pouring down (there wasn’t), and then remembered my blood pressure measurement. This was clearly not going to be an undisturbed reading, but if nothing else I’d get some data on the influence of stressors.

Thanks to this, I can tell you that the blood pressure associated with a burst geyser is 164 over 98. The reading for Monday alongside is therefore one that was taken some time later when the immediate crisis had passed. I pondered some metaphors related to fluids under pressure inside pipes/veins and what happens when things go wrong.

Again, on Friday, there was cause for surprise early morning activity. As I left the bedroom to let the dogs out, at around 5:20, I heard my mother-in-law, Pam, calling my name. In my defence, it was not the call of extreme distress. I returned to the bedroom to get some clothes on, and told Andrea that Pam was calling. She had something at hand to pull over her pyjamas and dashed down the passage.

As things turned out, this was not my finest hour. Seeing as Pam’s unknown, but apparently not urgent, need was being attended to, I stopped to spend 30 seconds taking my blood pressure.

I duly joined Andrea in Pam’s lounge, where she was lying on the floor, having been there since she fell at some point around 22:30 the night before. Not wanting to disturb the household, she hadn’t called out until she heard me something like seven hours later.

What a Trojan. She lay on a cold, hard floor for seven hours with a badly fractured femur, and multiple fractured ribs. I still get the shivers when I think about it (and, yes, I’m embarrassed that I paused to do something totally inconsequential).

She had surgery yesterday to have her femur put back together again. Recovery will be a lengthy and painful process, but Pam is tougher than any of us can imagine. For years, she has also stubbornly refused any suggestions that she do some exercise. Even now, when I raise the possibility of a personal trainer coming to the house for her and my mother, her sole response is, “We’ll hold that one in abeyance.”

All of us have a better shot at improved healthspan if we have a structured exercise programme. For more on this, read what I call The Gospel According to Peter (Outlive, by Peter Attia).

If you have a look at the numbers alongside, Saturday’s BP number is way outside the pattern that has been evolving. I’ll write more on that next week, but it was the known outcome of drinking several bottles (no-one’s counting) of sensational Pinot Noir with friends who have been with us in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.

I was on my bike for all the required sessions this week, including braving cold and wet conditions on Sunday.

I’m taking care to include at least five minutes of high intensity on each occasion. I’m also making a conscious effort to always breath through my nose.

There is something about this process, with its focus on particular physical activities, that is making me feel present in my body in the best possible way. This is a good place to be, even if the catalyst was a major risk factor.

The Week in Numbers

Sunday
BP: 158/82
Bike: 70 mins, evenly distributed, with 21 mins in zone 4

Monday
BP: 150/86

Tuesday
BP: 136/82
Bike: One hour in zone 2/3, with 10 mins in zone 4

Wednesday
BP: 145/81

Thursday
BP: 141/92
Bike: 70 mins on trails, half in zone 4 and the rest mostly in zone 3

Friday
BP: 152/83

Saturday
BP: 159/97
Bike: 90 mins on trails, with 16 mins in zone 4