With the new blood pressure guidelines it’s estimated that something like over 40% of the US population is now considered to be hypertensive or at risk for high blood pressure. Did this happen to you? Are you doing anything about it? What did your doctor suggest you do about it, if anything?
Of course we all have our “appointment in Samarra” but we all want it to be later rather than sooner. And hypertension is known as “The Silent Killer” for a reason. So did this change your thinking or change your lifestyle in any way?
For me, I’m already living low carb and moderate everything else, if I take away anything else I’m gonna be living on air!
I’ve heard that high blood pressure isn’t so much a cause of problems, but a symptom of them, and that medicines, diets, etc. designed to treat high blood pressure often don’t actually have much effect on mortality rates. Does anyone know more about this?
Having gone back and forth on this over the last 15-20 years with various doctors, I can very clearly see that my blood pressure is directly related to the life stress that I am experiencing at any given time, not necessarily my weight and diet.
I’m not saying that those may not be the primary factors for other people, I’m just pointing out my own circumstances.
Well, if I don’t keep lower than my unmedicated BP of 210/190 I wouldn’t have much of a lifespan …
Actually it hasn’t been that bad unmedicated for a couple years, now it is 170 to 75/110ish, but that still is something that wouldn’t lead to a long life.
Up until I managed to be able to ditch the clonidine, I had 4 different meds. I was thrilled when my cardiologist decided I could taper off of it. I am also one of his only patients NOT on a statin, oddly my numbers are pristine, and my blood vessels are phenomenal, my BP issues seem to be nontypical. I attribute my diet - I get dietary fat and cholesterol so my body doesn’t make the bad versions.
IANAD, but my understanding is that this is a partial truth. On the one hand, the cause of high blood pressure (stress, anger, unhealthy diet) will not go away just because you bring down your pressure medicinally, and those causes can still kill you when your BP is artificially lowered. But on the other hand, that elevated pressure *is *going to do demonstrable damage to your retinas, your brain, your kidneys, etc. And bringing the pressure down with medication WILL spare you all that damage.
I’ve always figured that maybe big Pharma set the parameters for blood pressure, sugar, cholestral and others. I mean who stands to lose the most if every human on the planet has readings lower than those set for the current year?
