walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Dec 28, 2017 9:40:41 GMT -8
www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20171113/definition-of-high-blood-pressure-drops?ecd=soc_fb_171114_cons_news_newbloodpressureguidelines&linkId=100000001466201#1Blood pressure categories in the new guidelines are: Normal: Less than 120 systolic pressure (the top number). Prehypertension: 120 to 129. Stage 1: Systolic between 130 and139. Stage 2: Systolic of 140 or higher. IMO, this is crap. Just a way to lump more people into a category of sickness. Similar to using BMI to define obesity. My blood pressure has remained the same since I was about 8 years old... 130/80. My doc, who is very level-headed, says it is of no concern, and that the systolic number is nowhere near as important as the diastolic number... and that anyone with a strong heart beat (which I do) will naturally have a higher systolic number. So now, according to the numbers, I am obese with high blood pressure and bradycardia (low pulse). I'm sure the insurance companies won't latch onto that instead of coming to the conclusion that I have a strength-trained athletic build / lifestyle. What say you?
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Dec 31, 2017 21:53:43 GMT -8
I tend to agree. Too much of the medical profession treats to the average, which means it's wrong for an unconscionable number of people above and below that average (to oversimplify it a bit). You'll never convince me that a third of the population (more now with the new, enlightened BP thresholds I suppose) needs to be put on those pills for life. They concoct insane cocktails of drugs, most of which do nothing but calm the side effects of one of the others. They enslave people to those high-cost regimens, the primary effect of which is to lower quality of life. No worries, though, there's a pill for that.
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 2, 2018 1:24:12 GMT -8
I don't think there is any cabal of whoever to enslave people to drugs. Most in the medical sciences and research are trying to do good and good work. They are just like the rest of in other words. And being like the rest of us, most are reluctant to change. And this is particularly true when it comes to getting doctors to stop doing something they are currently doing.
Anyway, I was encouraged by the indication that lifestyle changes should be recommended for this new group rather than drugs. I can tell you that for me, loosing weight has had a HUGE effect on lowering my blood pressure. It shocked me. I was not considered obese, but I was considered overweight. And the belly fat, the visceral fat, is the real killer for me. Losing some of that fat has helped my BP.
Rumi
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Jan 2, 2018 13:35:55 GMT -8
I don't think there is any cabal of whoever to enslave people to drugs. Cabal? No. But the "system" pushes doctors to be risk averse in a legal sense more than a my-health sense. Far easier to survive a suit if you did just what everybody else does and can point to a recommended threshold from some higher authority. "I did all I could" sounds better to a medically ignorant jury than "I didn't want to do too much." So antibiotics keep getting prescribed for viral infections (yay, drug resistant bacteria!) and we'll force that blood pressure down to the average regardless of how many pills-for-life it takes. Most in the medical sciences and research are trying to do good and good work. Probably true, but those at the research level are subject to the same publish-or-perish pressures and confirmation biases that plague all disciplines They are too willing to promote standards that increase, for example, overall survival rates at the expense of overall health for people who are distant from the "average." And those at the practical level often don't understand the statistics well enough to do anything but force fit every individual into the same mold. That said, some of the blame for our drug-happy and procedure-happy health care system belongs on us consumers who demand interventions when the real solution is to eat less and move more.
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 2, 2018 14:18:41 GMT -8
the real solution is to eat less and move more. Amen! Rumi <~~~~in the amen corner
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Jan 3, 2018 17:56:48 GMT -8
Not a problem here. My normal resting BP is low 90s. Family history is the same. Triglycerides is my bane. Again family history.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 5:16:15 GMT -8
while I do monitor all my "numbers" I try not to get hung up on them in the short term but build good habits for the long term.
Regarding my health I'm trying to ask myself regularly "is this the best for me?
Looking at treating myself as someone who I have been charged with taking care of, being held responsible for, and really care about.
I know it might seem trite or obvious to some but it really can make a difference when you approach yourself from outside your immediate experience and hold yourself accountable to doing the best thing for you.
And have cheat days ha ha ha
When I'm cycling regularly my blood pressure drops dramatically. I'm generally in the 120/80 range when I'm not really active. It doesn't take really long for the effect to kick in in either direction. A month after I start riding hard it plummets, when I stop it pops back up in about a month.
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Post by hikingtiger on Jan 11, 2018 7:46:51 GMT -8
Still "normal" in BP (110/60 most every day), BMI is "overweight" (1.5 pts from obese.) Thoughts on such are similar to those here. As was mentioned above (and amen-ed), my goal is to eat less and move more. Or at least move more and eat no more. the systolic number is nowhere near as important as the diastolic number I've been told the same thing.
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Post by outbac1 on Feb 13, 2018 6:51:12 GMT -8
the real solution is to eat less and move more. How true this is. I make my living as an Advanced Care Paramedic. As such I see and take a lot of B/Ps. A high pressure as a single event is not the problem. It is the long term effect of making the pump (heart) and pipes (blood vessels) run at higher pressures. The 1st # is the systolic and is the pressure when the heart beats. The 2nd #, diastolic, is the resting pressure of the system between beats. The longer you run higher pressures and the higher they are the more problems you will have as you get older. 30 yrs or more of 150/96 or more and you will have problems. That is when the heart attacks, (myocardial infarctions), strokes, and heart failures start to happen. In my experience it is not so much a question of if as when. As your B/P goes up, say 140/90 your body is talking to you. You should listen. Try to move more and eat less. Not just less but less and smarter. Less sugars, less salt, a more balanced diet. Some other things would be to quit smoking, cut down on alcohol. Having said that some people are just predisposed to high pressures and there is not a lot to be done about it except meds, and they do not always have the desired effect. There is usually a cause for single high pressure events. Some exercise, anxiety can do it. Some people get nervous when at the Drs office or hospital or just had a stressful event, (minor car crash). Take away the cause and the B/P goes down. B/P in the 160s maybe and 170s (sys) and/or 100s- 120s(dys) and up are reason enough to make a trip to the hospital. You are starting into stroke territory and something needs fixing. I use the numbers as guidelines and take into consideration other factors in my patients presentation/lives and treat accordingly. I am always suspicious when my patients tell me they are in perfect health. Because we all are, until we get sick. And that's usually when I show up.
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Post by msdoolittle on Feb 13, 2018 8:34:52 GMT -8
I was one of those people who had her sys # in the 160-170 range in my mid-20's. Dys wasn't any better, showing up around 110. Hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. Things have changed much since then, for the better. Unfortunately for me, it's controlled by meds. I've been dying to know, since losing 50lbs and being way more active, if going off the meds things would change. My father had high blood pressure and I'm afraid it's genetics. My doctor hasn't been in any hurry to take me off of them, either. All other blood work is normal.
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Feb 13, 2018 20:13:31 GMT -8
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Post by outbac1 on Feb 13, 2018 21:05:50 GMT -8
I'm afraid it's genetics. My doctor hasn't been in any hurry to take me off of them It could well be genetics. All Drs have various thoughts on B/P meds. Some are more open to trialing different doses and or different types of meds. Some like beta blockers, others prefer calcium channel blockers, others ARBs. Losing 50 lbs is generally a good thing. But it does make a difference if you went from 400lb to 350lb vs 220lb to 170lb. One may be a good end weight while the other still has a ways to go. I am not asking and do not want to know where you fit. It seems you need a good discussion with your Dr. to see what they are thinking.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Feb 14, 2018 8:08:40 GMT -8
I had high BP even in high school (well, relatively high but not great either). I took one med for my BP for years that left me severely anemic, but it was one of the few "safe" ones for having babies on. I am back now on regular meds. My Dr tried a different one a few months back and I had a bad reaction to it (tongue swelling ain't a good sign) so I am back on the ones I've been on for years. They ramp up my pulse however as a side effect. For me, it is genetics. I've been thin, fat, thin, fat and in between and my BP is what it is. However, I get a good walk in every day, because that IS important!
And yes, I do feel there is a push beyond belief to prescribe meds. If you don't see that connection, you need to read more. When you see older people on 10 or more meds, yet they are reasonably healthy, one needs to ask why, especially with many of those meds being directly connected to reduced brain function (where it causes the person to act like they have dementia).
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Feb 14, 2018 9:07:51 GMT -8
When you see older people on 10 or more meds They're on one drug. Then three to counteract the side effect of that drug. Then six to counteract the side effects of those drugs.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Feb 14, 2018 9:59:15 GMT -8
They're on one drug. Then three to counteract the side effect of that drug. Then six to counteract the side effects of those drugs. Yes. My oldest Aunt hid all her issues (she was a privacy freak) till my brother came by to check on her, unannounced and found her near death. Besides the prescriptions that were mixed badly, her doctor had given her a nearly unlimited supply of pain meds. She was taking so many she was nearly unresponsive (for the record, she was in unbearable pain due to her cancer having come back - but my brother didn't know). Had he not intervened she most likely would have passed away from an OD connected to the other meds, and been found days later. When my brother called for help, he went around and filled up an entire lunch bag with her med bottles. Ugh.
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