My sister is a size zero and is a serious fitness buff. Her blood pressure is in the 180s/100s without meds. There is no lifestyle change she can make that would keep her off meds. BP is sometimes heavily influenced by heredity.
“once you start BP meds they are hard to get off”
Is this actually true? I’ve never heard that before. :-?? I think most people stay on them because they either don’t change their lifestyle e.g. lose weight, etc. or because as we age, BP tends to increase all else being equal. I do know several people who made drastic changes in weight and exercise and either lowered or eliminated their BP meds.
Also, I’m under the impression that many BP meds are pretty tame/low key as far as prescription drugs go. Of course, zero meds are better if possible but, if warranted, I’d rather take a BP med with little to no side effects than run the risk of stroke or other serious issues.
doschicos, For me there were SERIOUS side effects. Initially you will ramp up (titration) the dosage as your body adjusts, then get your BP re-tested by your doctor. My doctor had my target dosage at 20mg, with a diuretic component. It is extremely important to monitor your BP multiple times daily for a few weeks when you start taking it. My BP was in the 80/60 range, or less, initially on 20mg. Almost passed out a couple of times. My doctor ruled out heart issues with a stress test. I went from 20mg, down to 10 mg, to 5mg, and finally to 2.5mg. I would call BP meds NASTY stuff!
Dos, yes, that is true according to my doc. You can’t go cold turkey on BP meds. If the dose is high, one has to go through a weaning process. If the dose is tiny, one has to be monitored by an MD. Glad I was not put on any meds because mine was stress-related! As soon as things calmed down, came down the pressure.
Usually my BP is about 112/74, but yesterday it was 130/84. I think it was because I arrived at 1:20 for a 1:30 appointment, only to find that I screwed up on the time and it was really 1:00! I hate being late, so I think that’s why my BP was higher than normal.
"My BP was in the 80/60 range, or less, initially on 20mg. Almost passed out a couple of times. "
@jshain I find it interesting your doc started you on 20mg. Was yours really high to start? High BP runs in my family so pretty much all of us have started on meds sometime during our 40s/50s. And husband has just in the past 6 months (obviously not related by blood). Everyone I know in the family was started on very low dosages of around 5mg and adjusted upwards if needed but usually that was years later.
Physician here. So many comments I shake my head at. 110 systolic is great- not dead… Lower is better as long as you function well. Think of it as how much wear and tear on your system with high versus lower pressure on all of that body plumbing. Yes, your BP will vary, especially with stress. Hypertension is a chronic condition so of course you stay on medications unless something changes just as diabetes is chronic. It is not big Pharma dictating things (especially when so many good generic drugs are useful) but new data. Hypertension is usually asymptomatic until the side effects build up to a catastrophic event. That is what we do not want- the stroke or heart attack. Like treating high cholesterol- doesn’t usually matter on a day to day basis but statistics show problems later can be avoided.
“Lifestyle changes”, diet and exercise can make a difference for many. But- those can be hard to do, especially with decades of habits. And, some people will have problems despite doing the best things.
Medicine is an imperfect science- an art, why we “practice” it. All physicians know to not take one high reading as evidence of a problem. The "white coat " phenomenon is a well known factor in BP numbers. Occasionally checking your BP at one of those free store testers is a great idea. If you notice a trend to high numbers pursue it.
Our bodies are all aging. Choosing when to treat what becomes a decision- risk/benefit ratios. Current thinking seems to be using lower BP numbers will be more beneficial than costs (monetary, lifestyle-needing to take pills, side effects…).
My first though when I heard this: great, now there are a LOT more people out there with pre-existing conditions.
Really, it is well in the interests of govt to have people die before they hit SS and medicare, so the conspiracy theorists are between a rock an a hard place LOL. Pick your poison, but mention it to your kids, so they might not rush the ambulance if you choose hypertension.
With all of these lower parameters the government better keep the ACA or insurance companies will find more ways to exclude people for preexisting conditions and raise prices! That’s the scary downside to trying to alert more people and sooner to conditions that may affect them years later.
Doschicos, my BP was around 140/90. I am 65 years old.
@jshain Not that high then at all. I’m no doctor but surprised your doctor chose 20mg as a starting point for your meds off the bat.
Like all guidelines, these are just guidelines published by industry groups. One must look to the source and decide what if any response should be taken.
I seem to remember a while back the same thing happening to the cholesterol numbers.
Jshain: my H’s blood pressure is 130/80. His PCP put him on Lisinopril (50 grams) and hydrochlorothiazide (diuretic). He had a cough that drove him nuts–it is a side effect of Lisinopril. His doc reduced it to 25 grams–no more cough. He just turned 70.
My H is careless about taking those bp meds (that is all he takes). He will go 3-4 days and forget and then start again. Is that dangerous? If so, why? Is he immediately susceptible to a stroke or heart attack when he doesn’t take the meds?
My Dad had a stroke at 87. I have seen how devasting a stroke can be.
Above- not taking the medicine routinely will not keep his BP in control on those days he misses it. Long term could be the problem, not suddenly.
Perhaps leaving the pill bottle on the bathroom counter and taking out the pill each night for the next day will remind him of his medicine. Out of sight, out of mind. I know when I have a short term antibiotic I need to keep it in sight and mark off that I’ve taken it, especially when it is multiple times per day. With regular medicines it is easy to forget if you took them. Even though it is just one pill a pill holder for every day of the week is another option- he can easily check to see if that day is full or empty. Too hard to count how many are left in a bottle.
@Bromfield2, I don’t think you could possibly mean your husband takes 50 grams of Lisinopril. The typical dose is around 10-40 mg per day. That’s milligrams, not grams, per day.
I have needle phobia, and I also have low blood pressure thanks to good genetics. One time I took my blood pressure at the drugstore, getting some normal low value for myself:100/65, maybe. Then I got my flu shot, waited a few minutes, and took my blood pressure again. 80/50. Hmm.
@Nrdsb4 I’m probably wrong on specific dose, but I do know that his doc cut the Lisinopri prescription in half. It made me wonder why you woudn’t start with a lower dose and go up vs starting higher and going down. She said that she might also switch him to Losartin (sp?)
BP varies a lot during the day. You might have 130/80 in the morning and 110/70 in the evening and still be perfectly fine. Just about any stimulation will make it rise.
Just about any stimulation will make it rise.<<<<<<
Right, like the one the at might precede some catastrophic c/v event.