The Blood Pressure Police

[killoffsonny]

[QUOTE=bzar;2670380]that's just it, right? there's things we fear that we're not even aware of.
QUOTE]

I have normal to low blood pressure but when I enter the doctors office I have to do deep yoga breathing to help keep it from rising. I do have a big fear of doctors. At my age they're always going to find something to give me a drug for and I always refuge. I hate dealing with doctors. Necessary evils. I have no problem with the chiropractor or the dentist. They aren't going to shove one of their drugs on me.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

So my theory, for what it's worth, is that doctors jump to put people on BP meds too quickly. There can always be extenuating circumstances.

Same thing with cholesterol. It seems that nobody thinks about the fact that people are different, and different readings/levels can be different and not necessarily require medication.

This! My DH's cholesterol is high and always has been, but so is his father's and other members of their family. There is absolutely no history of heart disease. I've been reading about cholesterol, and it seems some people just have elevated cholesterol. It does have a function in the body and some people need more of it. We don't necessarily have to rush to medicate absolutely everything!

[wendug]

Originally Posted by Nuggie's Auntie

This! My DH's cholesterol is high and always has been, but so is his father's and other members of their family. There is absolutely no history of heart disease. I've been reading about cholesterol, and it seems some people just have elevated cholesterol. It does have a function in the body and some people need more of it. We don't necessarily have to rush to medicate absolutely everything!

Luckily my doctor doesn't rush to put me on meds. My cholesterol was a bit high one year and my doctor said we'll keep an eye on it. I backed off my consumption of eggs in the morning and switched to steel cut oats. My next visit my cholesterol was fine. I'm glad she wanted to wait and just keep an eye on it! But I do know I have to be careful with my eating habits as high cholesterol is common in my family. And you're right, some people just have elevated cholesterol!

[BigBadBetty]

Perhaps doctors are rushing to prescribe medicine because of that study that early invention for hypertension saves lives: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news...may-save-lives. The study shows "the intervention in this trial, which carefully adjusts the amount or type of blood pressure medication to achieve a target systolic pressure of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), reduced rates of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and heart failure, as well as stroke, by almost a third and the risk of death by almost a quarter, as compared to the target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg."

[firmaniac]

Originally Posted by BigBadBetty

Perhaps doctors are rushing to prescribe medicine because of that study that early invention for hypertension saves lives: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news...may-save-lives. The study shows "the intervention in this trial, which carefully adjusts the amount or type of blood pressure medication to achieve a target systolic pressure of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), reduced rates of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and heart failure, as well as stroke, by almost a third and the risk of death by almost a quarter, as compared to the target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg."

My doctor referenced this study & general thinking when nailing down (for now) my need for blood pressure Rx. I ended up in the emergency room a month ago for my surprise dangerously high blood pressure. Due to my relatively 'young' age (50), fit lifestyle and no other extenuating reasons or circumstances for this, being a bit aggressive *now* seems to show a benefit later on down the road. At this point I'm open to trying the meds at the higher dose. I am new to even having to go to the doctor period, so am working double time to educate myself and gather my family history. My dentist is religious about taking a bp reading before treatment, as well. They do not want a "white coat" stressed patient in distress. I don't feel lectured or coerced when dealing with this, but I do feel grateful there is help if I choose to go this route.

[FitBoop]

Originally Posted by Scorpio6

Big Pharma now has another weapon in its arsenal to push additional products. The Blood Pressure Police.

I am already on as much rx as I can tolerate without getting sick or an allergic reaction and normally it is a good enough reading my family dr is satisfied with it. Also, according to the directions with my home blood pressure machine, one is not supposed to take a reading within 1 hr of eating or exercising, and you are supposed to sit quietly for 15 minutes before taking the reading. In addition, illness, an infection, lack of activity, and being in a doctor's office (white coat hypertension) can elevate the reading. In my case, a reading taken with the machines in the offices instead of a manual blood pressure (with a sphygmomanometer) gives an inaccurate reading and the machine cuff is actually painful.

Last week in the eye doctor's office within an hour of eating plus hiking with my arthritic hip all over the medical center and up and down the halls in the doctor's office, they took a machine blood pressure reading on me and guess what it was high. I also had been sick for over 2 wks with ear infections, on antibiotics, and not exercising much at all because of the dizziness. So they bitched at me about the blood pressure like that's going to be any help.

Then this morning the Blood Pressure Police called me from the medical center wanting to talk about it. One of the biggest causes of falls with seniors is over-medication. I refuse to call her back, it won't accomplish anything and will just spike my blood pressure from aggravation having to talk to stupid people. Incidentally, my family doctor just renewed my rx for valium to assist the blood pressure rx I'm already on.

And now I'm ready for a stress-busting session of aerobic weight training.

I can't tell from your post if your blood pressure has been normal except for the time at the doctor's office. If it continues to be high, then you should take it very seriously, and although I am not a fan of medication either, I would consider taking medication to keep the blood pressure down. High blood pressure not only increases your risk of stroke, but it also can damage the kidneys. It isn't worth taking that risk, if the blood pressure is high.

[bzar]

for those who lost as little as 5% of your weight, how low did your BP go?

[rhbrand]

The weird thing is, once you get a little older, say, 70s, you are better off with higher BP. You are at higher risk of orthostatic hypotension, meaning your blood pressure drops and you can faint, when you get a little older. The docs, or at least some I work with, are keeping their older patients BP on the higher side cause fainting when you are older, risks more injuries.

I'm not saying super high, but more in the 140s/70-80.

I think to often the medical community, esp drug companies, rush to judgement on things that are "bad" and things that are "good"for you, without true understanding. Look at all the drugs that have been removed from the market cause they were killing people, or causing horrible side effects.

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by rhbrand

The weird thing is, once you get a little older, say, 70s, you are better off with higher BP. You are at higher risk of orthostatic hypotension, meaning your blood pressure drops and you can faint, when you get a little older. The docs, or at least some I work with, are keeping their older patients BP on the higher side cause fainting when you are older, risks more injuries.

I'm not saying super high, but more in the 140s/70-80.

I think to often the medical community, esp drug companies, rush to judgement on things that are "bad" and things that are "good"for you, without true understanding. Look at all the drugs that have been removed from the market cause they were killing people, or causing horrible side effects.

This was exactly the case with my late husband. He wasn't in his 70s, but had several stents (heart and carotid) and the doctors wanted his pressure higher to keep that blood flow going. One of the factors that caused his death was low blood pressure. He passed out several times from it.... and he had been on BP meds for "high" pressure in the past. I so agree that it is vital to understand what is good and what is bad, without making a blanket decision based on numbers!

[dianestjohn]

There was a huge study done in 2013 showing that adults age 60 and over should have a bp goal of 150/90 and under, and liberalizing the numbers for younger adults to 140/90 or lower: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2...nt-guidelines/. At the time it caused a huge controversy which I was interested in because I personally think bp is treated too aggressively by doctors. I remember reading at the time that the study was well done from a scientific perspective because it looked at a lot of different randomized trials, and it was also well done because it was free from the taint of drug companies doing their own "studies" which often show that we should all be taking more pharmaceuticals. For those who are interested in whether bp, blood sugar and cholesterol are over-treated, I can recommend 2 excellent books by Dr. Gilbert Welch- "Overdiagnosed" and "Less Medicine, More Health". He basically says that very high blood pressure and diabetes are major health risks, however, slightly elevated levels of bp or blood sugar are not much of a risk at all and it is wrong to extrapolate the data in that way. He notes that the levels where treatment of bp or slightly elevated blood sugar is advised have moved progressively downward over the past 20 years to include more and more people, and he suggests Big Pharma has had something to do with that.