Very High Blood Pressure while playing Street Fighter

[F.E.A.R]

Hi there I have noticed when playing USF4 I get very high blood pressure spikes like 170/105. I am wondering perhaps fighting games cause the most anxiety?

It does not matter if win or lose very high pressure when playing fighting games like SF.

Is there anyway to keep under control and keep calm? but I think ultimately I may have to avoid SF and other fighting games from now on. I think though losing weight might be the biggest factor in driving down my pressure.

[Don Doggy]

Ähmmm, try do be more relaxed about it? And by the way, you propably should avoid DotA and similar games, your heart might explode^^
I guess a bit of raised blood pressure is neccessary to enjoy a Fighting-game. Playing against your friends and keeping calm is a lot less fun.

[F.E.A.R]

Originally posted by Spike Spiegel:

Ähmmm, try do be more relaxed about it? And by the way, you propably should avoid DotA and similar games, your heart might explode^^
I guess a bit of raised blood pressure is neccessary to enjoy a Fighting-game. Playing against your friends and keeping calm is a lot less fun.

yeah what I am gonna do is I have USF4 for PS3 so what I will do is try to get accustomed to it so I can practice keeping calm. This small problem here is the only thing keeping me from pre ordering SF5 right now.

[404]

It's normal, fighting games are one of the most competitive genre out there and some people might feel an higher pressure than the others.
Fighting games require a lot of eye-hand coordination skills, high concentration and high reaction speed.

[Fususu]

I would be careful, you may have hypertension problems. If its playing fighting games only I would say it's ok, but if you have that problem when performing daily actions you should be careful of your health and have some analysis.

In any case, i'm not trying to scare you.

[F.E.A.R]

Originally posted by Fuzz -Spiral Soul-:

I would be careful, you may have hypertension problems. If its playing fighting games only I would say it's ok, but if you have that problem when performing daily actions you should be careful of your health and have some analysis.

In any case, i'm not trying to scare you.

Hi I was diagnosed with hypertension by a doctor and I seem to suffer also from uncontrolled hypertension that can skyrocket out of control.

USF4 is far worse than anyother game, seems to be damaging my health greatly I had high hopes for SF5 and no matter how hard I try I get dangerous pressure readings sometimes 911 emergency pressure readings when playing fighting games like SF.

Other games thats more relaxing like Killing Floor 2 and stuff I get very normal readings. I seem to not be able to handle stress seems like I will have to stick to my casual first person shooter games.

[Scrub McGrub]

Take high blood pressure pills, eat right, exercise... don't act like you have to make a decision to either keep playing the game or die. That's just asinine.

[F.E.A.R]

Originally posted by node357:

i have the same problem with USF4 and SG, but honestly, i'm hoping it really does kill me. i can tolerate about 30 minutes max of either game before i'm shaking uncontrollably and seeing little dots in my vision. fighting games are still fighing for some people. same thing with horror movies. people who are scared for fun are in fact afraid for their life as far as their brain's concerned. constant doses of that are bound to kill ya. if you value your life, take up less strenuous games, or chat up your doctor about relaxation techniques and medications.

Yeah there are medications but those medicatons you have to take your entire life and if you happen to stop taking it aswell it could cause serious issues infact those same medications can even cause diabetes etc

I decided on a healthier lifestyle to keep it under control, seeing that pressure can cause things like Kidney Damage and permanent blindness, seems the only thing I could have done was get rid of fighting games its sad really

[Providence 777]

Firstly, you need to keep in mind that the match doesn't matter (because it's NOT more important than your life)

Relax by being content with losing, and being content with letting it go during the match. You can train this by playing local with a friend, and when you're about to beat them, just throw the match and let them win, see your hard work go down the drain and say "It's OK, it's not important". Keep doing this with people, once you get online you should have less stress because "experiencing the game" is how you can derive joy from it.

Lastly, inputs are far less strict in this game, you don't need to put in a damaging amount of effort to get things to link anymore. Take deep breaths inbetween rounds and matches.

[Penguin_Player]

You are absolutily right, I have really low Blood Presure and always notices whenever I play matched where it ends up really close to losing or winning, my blood preasure would sky rocket, so much in fact that I would became drowsie or my hands would start to shake... I even got my mate to measure my blood preasure after playing a match and yeah it was bad.. it seems to only happen when playing this game though.. and no other activity.. so gotta learn to relax and not get too anxious..

[Midnight Meows]

Sir, don't play the game if you're experiencing such significant medical problems. There are billions of games out there and plenty of them are fun.

Change your diet, start moderate exercise, and seek the assistance of certified personal trainers and / or a certified dietitian if that's something that you can afford (not a judgement statement, but they can be very expensive). Both ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and ACE (American Council on Exercise) are excellent certificiation authorities.

[F.E.A.R]

yeah I decided to stay away from SF games completely. found myself a game I enjoy and keeps me calk all the time so i will stick with that. Guess there is too much games out there than to force myself to play just this one alone./

[SLOTH]

Back when arcades had Street Fighter Alpha 2, I would sweat like I was running in the hot sun while playing against folks. Sometimes even while playing against the computer.

[Pilpul Gorilla]

Originally posted by Corrosion X:

I think though losing weight might be the biggest factor in driving down my pressure.

I used to weigh 100lbs more than I currently do and I can vouch for weight loss being a completely life altering experience health-wise. If you're very overweight, get on a cardio regiment as soon as possible. 45 minutes a day on a stationary bike is all you need to melt a lot of pounds off.

You'll notice many other ailments improve or disappear, too. Good luck.

[OshiX]

Originally posted by Providence 777:

Firstly, you need to keep in mind that the match doesn't matter (because it's NOT more important than your life)

Relax by being content with losing, and being content with letting it go during the match. You can train this by playing local with a friend, and when you're about to beat them, just throw the match and let them win, see your hard work go down the drain and say "It's OK, it's not important". Keep doing this with people, once you get online you should have less stress because "experiencing the game" is how you can derive joy from it.

Lastly, inputs are far less strict in this game, you don't need to put in a damaging amount of effort to get things to link anymore. Take deep breaths inbetween rounds and matches.

better yet, get a couple "friends" from playing SFIV online, who are better than you, and play endless with them...it's a good way to get used to losing...

Making friends online can be done in a couple minutes...SFIV friends are easy to make :P

[OshiX]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one stressed out by SFIV.

I used to play SFIV all day and night without any breaks really. Makes your playing worse and it stresses you out BAAAAAAD.

My tips...as someone who still sucks at the game:

Take breaks fairly frequently

Find a main (if you don't have one)

Try to enjoy

If you suck like I do (I haven't been playing SFIV that long) than SFIV makes you want to pull your ******* hair out. If you're still learning how to play, than fairly frequent breaks will help to keep you from getting as stressed. Take a minute before each fight to relax again...this also helps :P