Blood pressure question?

Last weekend, I went on a long bike ride and had a number of problems (63 miles). First, I had an asthma attack about 7 miles in (the last one I had was about two years ago). Did eventually get an inhaler, but not before an ambulance showed up to assist. During the course of this, they checked my blood pressure and the reading was 98/70. This is very unusual for me as it typically is about 120/70 or so. They said to make sure I was drinking enough fluids and it was up to me if I wanted to continue. I did and did end up finishing-drank a ton of water and gatorade along the way. Still, the quads and to lesser extent the hamstrings were cramping up very badly by the end. Would very much like to avoid this in future so what exactly was this? Was thinking it was probably just an asthma issue but am thinking it might be something else to keep an eye on especially when I am doing an intense workout. Thanks for the help.

I enjoy riding my bike, running, and being fairly active. As far as the asthma goes, its mild and doesn't stop me from doing what I want to do. Can't stop doing what you want to do just because you may have an asthma attack every 2 yrs.

It's possible that you could have had what is called hypovolemia, or low blood volume. This can be caused by not replacing the fluids you have lost through excessive sweating and/or urination.

Also, if you had been lying down, and then stood up, and they took your blood pressure, you could have had something called postural hypotension. This is low blood pressure caused by a change in body position.

I would suggest monitoring your blood pressure yourself, try getting two readings a day, for a while, if you can, and see if this happens again. You should also follow up with your general practitioner for a physical, especially given the asthmatic relapse.

Best of luck!

The blood pressure may have had less to do with the cramping than the your fluid levels. You don't say how old you are or if you had recently worked out, stretched or biked extensively. Warming up before hand might have helped prevent cramps. Low blood pressure could have been another symptom of low fulid levels rather than a cause of anything.

Why do you have to ride 63 miles when you have an asthma history? I simply dont understand why you put your body through that.