I've been in a similiar bind to some of you; the one thing I know about cardiologists is that they don't know jack about BP, HR, exercise, diet. All they care about is pushing meds. If you want to go to an expert, find a guy that has the pathology; he can tell you up the ying yang about the disease/disorder/phenomenon.
Anyhow, there is no strong correlation between BP and athleticism. If you look at the general population, within a certain weight range, and age, and height, and compare them to athletes within a similiar range, you won't find a statistical difference in BP or HR. For example, my mom hardly exercises at all, isn't what I would consider athletic, and has a pretty low resting HR (55 bpm), but her BP is considered borderline 140/90. My sister is the same, except her BP is optimal 120/80 (she can barely run 3 miles without getting tired). I, on the other hand, have a wide ranging resting HR (i've seen it get to low 50s sometimes in the morning, but in the day, it's usually 72), high systolic BP (140-150/60), but I can run and swim and surf like no tommorrow. No matter how much exercise I do, and strict no sodium/low fat diet I follow (By the way, my cholesterols levels are phenomenal, my LDLs are a low 76, and my HDLs are an unusually high 67 -- cardiologist said he's never seen anything like that; also, lab panels came back very normal and good), my BP doesn't drop at all. I've come to the conclusion that some people just produce abnormally high amounts of renin and that there isn't anything that can be done. I take an ARB now and my BP goes down to 100/50 sometimes. Usually, it's below 120/80 now.
Anyhow, I think exercise does help to lower BP a little (a statistically significant 5 - 10 mm Hg in a sedentary person) in people of normal weight. Weight loss can affect BP HUGE in an overweight person. BP of 150 doesn't mean you're going to have a heart attack or stroke or kidney failure, it will just put you in statistically at a higher risk (just your chances of getting those will be higher, but not guaranteed). My father had high BP since 35 and he's 65 now with no health problems. He has had a full stress echocardiogram and no hypertrophies, myopathies, kidney disease, etc...
BTW, and as a side note, I do know alot of good athletes that have higher than normal or high BP. This one guy I know can run a 10k in under 38 minutes. That's averaging 6:15 miles for 6.2 miles
and has a BP of 155.
And to answer that other guy's question about high systolic, and low diastolic, that typically means that your veins are in good shape and that blood flows easily throughout your vascular system between beats. High systolic means you either have CAD (coronary artery disease; for a young guy, that is HIGHLY unlikely), high cardiac output based on some pathology (most likely andergenic -- typically in african americans), vasoconstriction (based on angiotensin renin feedback system), or some underlying pathology like diabetes mellitus that may be causing water retention and higher blood volume. Anyhow, high systolic hammers your arteries and arterioles and should be reduced. Go see a doctor for meds.
