Blood Pressure

The human body is amazing as is pathophysiology.

Is it prerenal?

What happens to the pressure sensors and how come they dont help lower your BP if its elevated?

I know a couple for sure know these answers.

Some good info in here.
And plenty of it is just silly.

Slightly Elevated BP can be caused by very different things.
A doc who gets this and can make suggestions for lowering it is key.
If they push pills first for mildly elevated, time for a new PCP.
Usually they have you check it at home (manually, the cheap machines arent that accurate) the same time daily and keep a log.
WAY better than a quick check by an MA at the office and then off to the pills!


Create a plan for wellness.
Look at diet, lifestyle, activity, rest.
I encourage people to push back from the rat race a bit.
For many, a renewed focus on their faith helps fuel their drive for wellness (I also see a lot of huge fat 50 yr olds at church who I constantly think are about to code)

Stop eating so much of the food pyramid.
My preference for that would be something animal-based but, really, as long as you stop eating so much processed carbs, sugar, & seed oils you’ll start seeing some progress

Get some form of exercise as well. It doesn’t need to be a hiit workout every day, just something to let you know you were active the following day

I represent evil, greasy (that’s a new one, I like it) money-grubbing Big Pharma. Been doing it for 25 years.

Go ahead, avoid talking to your doc, heck go see a naturopath. You’ll spend more but hey it’s your money.

Be advised that darn near every BP med these days is generic, so a $4 copay doesn’t go too far in lining my pockets.

Too bad, my boat needs a new motor.





P

All kidding aside, do not mess with BP. With very few, rare exceptions, nothing good follows high BP.





P

After a working life of (mainly)...Army (Vietnam Vet), Fire Service, and final years as a long haul truck driver...my Doc said I had Hypertension. Not surprising really because of the odd 'stressful' time in that working life.
Prescribed 'Coversyl' to get the BP down, and that's when the drama started. After a few days I noticed a rash (but it was Winter and I was wearing thicker shirts, etc so assumed it was the clothing causing the itchy rash), then a 'cough' started, then the unending throat infections! All are part of the side effects of Coversyl. Plus...long term use can lead to kidney failure in some people. Yikes, the cure is worse than the disease.
Only discovered all the side effects by reading a wee paper slip with tiny writing hiding in one the pill boxes. Told the Doc "I've stopped taking those pills".
He wasn't worried at all. Gave me some more pills to relax the blood vessels (to allow a better flow) but BP has stayed the same.
I'm 75, and weigh 81kg (about normal for a person my height). BP is usually around 140/85.
Been exercising (walking/bike riding) for years now. So yeah, who/what do you trust?
By all means take medication, but ask your Doc about side effects of that medication first.

UKDslayer said:

When I mentioned vagal maneuvers, that (MMA choking) is not quite what I had in mind - but it actually is along the spectrum of vagal maneuvers but a little more extreme. I have had a few individuals of variable MMA experience levels attempt to choke me out, with variable results and one only brief unconsciousness.

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So you choke yourself?

mvphilly said:

Not asking for medical advice but I have seen threads with covid remedy suggestions other big pharma poison so I am asking the same for BP control.What do you all use that works?

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A diet. My blood pressure is totally linked to what I weigh.

I am blessed with hypertension and hypotension.

Look what was in my magazine today @mvphilly

Sniperwannabee said:

Look what was in my magazine today @mvphilly View attachment 7974834

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She ain’t gonna do anything to lower your blood pressure…

mvphilly said:

Thats just around where mine is and he said its"borderline" high?Now hes got me in a fucking panic and its really high from his fucking stress.

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They keep moving the goal post for what is borderline.

I had to give up wheat (very hard to do) for an unrelated reason, but doing so lowered my BP. I've also heard that sugar causes inflammation and increased BP.

Hypertension will kill you though so if you can't do it with diet then definitely get on pills.

I have had two MI's and have three stents in my heart. High BP is not only a stroke risk, it also tends to roughen up blood vessels (incl the ones in your heart) which facilitates accumulation of plaque and heightens the risk for another MI.

Now, I do not take medical advise from SH...and don't think anybody should take mine either. I'm not a doctor and even if I was, I don't have access to your full medical work up so any advise would be out of ignorance.

I take a small daily dose of Quinapril (lots of 'prils as BP meds) and have for the last 15 years. It does not seem to have any side effects for me with the possible exception that I don't tolerate heat as well as I did ages ago (but there may be many other reasons for this).

To me, key is no smoking, regular exercise (just walking is very good...but not a stroll...step it out), and weight control.

To the fella above who was given a BP med with no warnings of possible side effects to watch out for and apparently no follow up, fire that doctor and get another. You can actually do that, contingent on what kind of health plan you have...I will never do managed care/HMOs as all they seem to manage is your trip to the grave.

When you do dialysis, you have to watch for blood pressure swings. Last night when I hooked up to my cycler (dialysis machine), my BP was 185 over 74. I wake up and disconnect from the machine and my BP was 94 over 50. That tends to take a toll on the body more than just having high BP. I got off of the machine at about 7:30 and it's now 11:23 and I'm just now becoming functional again.

BP is overlooked many times (particularly in men). It's a disease that you can't see until it's too late. Blood pressure isn't just a vascular disease, it damages all parts of the body. I'm doing dialysis because of a lifetime of high BP. I was stuck twice in my arm each day I had hemodialysis for 30 months until I change to PD.



In order to receive dialysis, I had to endure a major surgery to my left arm.



So when your wife bugs you to go to the doctor for a check up, you may want to be smarter than me and do it. The life you save could be your own.

I take a prescribed meds for my blood pressure control. In the past I have got it under control through diet, and stress decreased stress by taking a long vacation. When I went to Alaska I left with Lisinopril to keep my BP down because I was getting horrible headaches from my insanely high BP, like 150-160 over 115 to 125. The highest i've had in a doctors office was 183/126, and they wanted me to go by ambulance to the ER right away. On my Alaska vacation, my blood pressure dropped naturally to 120/80 without using any meds, I only took it for a week or so leading up to when we left on our trip. I don't know about natural supplements that will work, i've been working my way towards a lifestyle that will allow me to be healthy, and not need the meds anymore.

Best thing to start with, decrease sodium intake, drink more water. Get in a little bit of exercise, go for a walk, do some yard work, something to get your heart rate up a little, it helps. Eat more greens, but balance your diet. Stress is the tough one to reduce because that's more drastic, and often far more impractical to alter. Some say meditation and Yoga work for them, I mean, I like good lookin' women in yoga pants, but the yoga classes are usually full of women that should be prohibited from wearing yoga pants.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Branden

hlee said:

Diet, exercise, and martial arts.

I choke people so that I don’t choke people.

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Been doing the same. Was on hydrochlorothiazide and Lisinopril. Added diet, exercise, and got back into martial arts which all helped me drop 75 pounds and get off the hydrochlorothiazide recently. At my next appointment, may see about getting the lisinopril dosage cut some.

October of last year I found myself in the ER with BP of 229/112. They slapped a nitroglycerine patch on my chest and gave me some other meds. Admitted for three days while they ran tests. Left with three prescriptions.

About a week later I'm feeling pretty good and decide to go for a bike ride early Sunday morning. I get about 30 minutes out and I'm exhausted. Fortunately, I had taken a zigzag path through neighborhoods and was about a mile from home. I had about 1/2 mile of a 8-9 percent grade, but had to get off and push the bike. Finally coasted into the driveway and sat down in the garage sucking down water. After about a half hour went inside and checked my BP...74/45.

Back to the doc and he strips two prescriptions and has me on 5mg Amlodipine twice daily. Over the next month or so I notice my BP is perfect in the mornings and throughout the day, but...heat and/or moderate to hard exercise drives my BP down to the point I get very weak and experience tunnel vision.

Back to the doc. Ultimately wind up on 5mg Amlodipine in the evenings. Just got out of the shower and checked at 100/55. If I don't take the med, it will be 140/85ish or higher by 8PM. When it gets over 140 I can walk around for 20 minutes and drop 10-20 points.

Doc say I have postural BP. Can't ride my bike. I bought a recumbent Nordictrack and have no problems with it.

Exercise controls my BP. No exercise and it skyrockets. I'll always go with behavior modification, before drugs.

Sorry if this is has been brought up but I skipped a few to quote this.

Bradu said:

It gets better after being on them a while but cutting salt/sodium out of your diet can make a huge difference if you eat a lot processed foods or just like salt. Pay attention to labels and try cutting out sodium to see what happens. Even store bought chicken needs to be soaked to reduced sodium.

It made more of a difference than meds for me but I couldn't stick to it. It made for some pretty bland food.

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Sodium is not always the culprit. I’m 35 190lbs and 6’2” and farm 8-16 hr days. I’m currently on one of the pills for BP. Last bloodwork I had done doc said sodium was dangerously low because I cut a lot out so she prescribed sodium pills. Those SUCK!! So sodium is not always the answer.

Be aware that dehydration will cause your BP to drop. If you’re in the “exercise controls my BP camp” make sure you stay hydrated. “Low BP” because you maintain a constant state of dehydration isn’t the same thing as having your BP under control.

So all you guys on meds and/or decided to do something about it what were your numbers? Before the meds it was common for me to be 150-160/100-105. This last doc thru a hissy fit. Now I’m around 130/85.

mheimer_45 said:

Sorry if this is has been brought up but I skipped a few to quote this.



Sodium is not always the culprit. I’m 35 190lbs and 6’2” and farm 8-16 hr days. I’m currently on one of the pills for BP. Last bloodwork I had done doc said sodium was dangerously low because I cut a lot out so she prescribed sodium pills. Those SUCK!! So sodium is not always the answer.

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No, it isn't always the answer. Everyone is different which is why they have different methods of treatment that should be recommended by your doctor. However, I can almost guarantee that most people's sodium intake is way more than the recommended daily amount...

BullGear said:

When you do dialysis, you have to watch for blood pressure swings. Last night when I hooked up to my cycler (dialysis machine), my BP was 185 over 74. I wake up and disconnect from the machine and my BP was 94 over 50. That tends to take a toll on the body more than just having high BP. I got off of the machine at about 7:30 and it's now 11:23 and I'm just now becoming functional again.

BP is overlooked many times (particularly in men). It's a disease that you can't see until it's too late. Blood pressure isn't just a vascular disease, it damages all parts of the body. I'm doing dialysis because of a lifetime of high BP. I was stuck twice in my arm each day I had hemodialysis for 30 months until I change to PD.

View attachment 7975058

In order to receive dialysis, I had to endure a major surgery to my left arm.

View attachment 7975059

So when your wife bugs you to go to the doctor for a check up, you may want to be smarter than me and do it. The life you save could be your own.

Click to expand...

Man, I'm sorry to hear about your travails and health issues. Truly.

You do make a great point...particularly for the "real he-men" who laugh in the face of high BP....it does also kill your kidneys.

My kidney functions are fine now, but before my first MI 15 years ago I was a red box Cowboy Killer daily smoker and my creatinine test levels went out of normal and were going up. Actually having an MI and getting scared shitless got me off of the cigs with the added benefit of no longer damaging my kidneys.

I too advocate for everyone to have an annual physical. They will save your bacon one day....maybe not today, but eventually you'll be grateful you did.

Best of luck, my friend.

mheimer_45 said:

Sorry if this is has been brought up but I skipped a few to quote this.



Sodium is not always the culprit. I’m 35 190lbs and 6’2” and farm 8-16 hr days. I’m currently on one of the pills for BP. Last bloodwork I had done doc said sodium was dangerously low because I cut a lot out so she prescribed sodium pills. Those SUCK!! So sodium is not always the answer.

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Wow, most people get way too much sodium without even knowing its hidden in their processed foods. You must eat very fresh and healthy. Good for you.