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Nullus Anxietas |
Full article: Is high blood pressure always bad? I'm 68 years old. I've been borderline hypertensive for years. Been on 5mg of Lisinopril to keep it more-or-less in check. (Though, honestly, I think diet and exercise have more effect, in my case.) The other evening it was up to 143/92. I was alarmed. (I suspect that was partly due to the strong cup of coffee I'd been nursing all evening.) Last night and this morning it was back down to ±120/80. But this new study suggests maybe that higher number is actually better for me. Western medicine has been found to have gotten a lot of things wrong. I wonder if they've had this one wrong, too? "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | ||
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| Go ahead punk, make my day |
High BP is great under High G forces!  | |||
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| Member |
Just my lay opinion, but in the case of long term disease with no direct causality, they seem to find what could either be a symptom or even unrelated and then decide it's causal and treat it with drugs. Same as high cholesterol. Better diet and exercise is always a great treatment though for just about anything. If the exercise includes some real resistance training, it will treat osteoperosis as well! I had a physical in December and the auto cuff was giving crazy high readings. So, the medic took it manually a couple times and it was normal. “People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” –Chuck Palahnuik Be harder to kill: https://preparefit.ck.page | |||
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| half-genius, half-wit |
I've always had so-called high blood pressure, even back when I joined the Army at age 21. However, my very fast recovery rate during exertion, my VERY low pulse rate - even now rarely higher than 45 bpm - and low respiration rate and high lung capacity made me a shoo-in for biathlon. That lasted for almost 20 years and it wasn't failing health that took me out of it, but the change from the service sniping rifle calibre of 7.62x51 of 6.5x55 getting changed to .22 rinfire. I still have 'high' BP, and take a pill a day for it. It's around 140/78. I still have a slow bpm, and I can actually slow it down even more if needed - I'm a long-range rifle shooter sans rest, just sling - so that I can take my shots between heartbeats. And I'm fitter than most 73 y/o I know. | |||
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| Member |
I can see where low blood pressure can present a significant risk for falls in older individuals. Of course, spending a few decades in middle age with 180/100 will probably blow out an artery and you'll have a stroke. What I think is nuts is the constant ratcheting down of every target measurement from cholesterol, to blood glucose to BP. BTW: Now we're supposed to stop taking our daily low dose aspirin after DECADES of being told to do so once you turn 40. Nice. | |||
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| Crusty old curmudgeon  |
Ironically I had an appointment with my GP this past Friday and we talked about my blood pressure which I thought was on the high side at an average of around 145/85. He said that at my age, 71, that was average and not to worry. I've been on Losartan for a number of years and he told me it's too early to make changes. Jim ________________________ "If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
That article is a little short on facts. They state that people that don't have high blood pressure die at a higher rate but don't mention the cause. Cancer, accidents, etc. are obviously going to cause a lot of deaths but not due to blood pressure readings. A better indication would be to study the blood pressure of people that die only of causes that would be affected by high BP. Yes, the pharmaceutical industry and some medical professionals have overstated the seriousness of many indicators and offered expensive and maybe unnecessary treatments but don't fall for what this implies at face value. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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| Member |
Studies have shown that future studies will likely contradict current studies. Like guns, Love Sigs | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
They link to an abstract of the study.
One may reasonably presume that a team of scientists in this field, publishing a study in a heart journal, probably used correct scientific and statistical methods. E.g.: One may probably pretty safely assume deaths due to automobile accidents, the proximate cause of which was not stroke or passing out from low BP, were washed out of the data sample. OTOH: We have the example of Kellerman and whichever U.S. medical journals in which he's published his drivel.
You can state, confidently, there's no relationship between rates of cancer in people with lower blood pressure and those with higher blood pressure?
That is precisely what this study seeks to clarify: The relationship between blood pressure and lifespan. To say you're going to limit the sample to people that have died due to known (or believed) consequences of high blood pressure would render the study worthless. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| Dances With Tornados |
Studies show that high blood pressure is really good as opposed to who have no blood pressure. | |||
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Member |
This agrees with the study I've read that 99.9% of people who have no blood pressure are 100% more likely to be dead. . | |||
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goodheart |
Your brain requires enough blood pressure to pump blood uphill from the heart to the brain. As people age they develop more atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries in the neck, which decreases perfusion pressure to the brain. That's why excessive blood pressure lowering in the setting of an acute stroke is now known to be a bad thing. Also many people especially diabetics with neuropathy have less nervous system control over the blood vessels in the legs, that leads to pooling of blood in the lower extremities, with consequent lower perfusion pressure in the brain. Clunk! Orthostatic syncope. Lots of reasons to be careful about excessive lowering of blood pressure. In my opinion, having spent a career dealing with this issue, I am concerned about thoughtless application of general guidelines, without consideration of individual differences. _________________________ “Remember, remember the fifth of November!" | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
I was hoping you'd chime in, sjtill. Thanks for the insight! I'm curious: What are some of the symptoms of "pooling of blood in the lower extremities?" "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| Member |
The problem as I see it is not having enough blood pressure when I meet a smoking hot woman who is willing to go home with me. ********* "Some people are alive today because it's against the law to kill them". | |||
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| goodheart |
Pooling of blood in the legs, short-term, can cause you to feel very light-headed when going from sitting to standing; at worst causing loss of consciousness (syncope). Long-term it can cause swelling and discoloration of the legs. _________________________ “Remember, remember the fifth of November!" | |||
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quarter MOA visionary |
I know this thread is a few years old and hopefully all is better now. But after the recent conversation(s) on cholesterol misinformation I saw this video about blood pressure and that this is massively misdiagnosed just as much. Whether it is a big pharm conspiracy or just doctor ignorance this is worth a watch. FWIW, I have seen lot of great videos from this guy. Check it out. | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
Note that this is written by a PHD, not MD. Lots of word games if you read it closely. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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| hello darkness my old friend  |
Battling the blood pressure thing right now. 6'5" tall and diabetic. Last month went for my yearly visit and my BP was 160/110. My diabetes Doc wasn't happy and that was with 20mg of lisinopril. She doubled my dose to 40 mg. That changed nothing. Added Chlortalidone and now my pressure is around 125/90. It surprised my that we didn't discuss diet and exercise as I have been sedentary for the last couple of years. Two years ago I was diagnosed with high calcium in my blood and osteoporosis. Snipped out the parathyroid gland causing that and was speed eating calcium. Last fall finally got permission to mountain bike again after a normal(7% bone growth) bone scan. Of course, fall meant snow so, riding was out until spring and In spring I broke several bones in my foot. so much for summertime mountain biking. My foot is finally healing and hopefully the swelling will finally fade so I can get some damn exercise. I hope the exercise will help with my blood sugars and blood pressure. I hate taking pills and would love to be not chained to my damn pharmacy. | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
Are you also overweight? When my BP inexplicably spiked a few years back my doc at the time wanted to add another BP med to get it back down. I didn't want another med and suggested bumping the Lisinopril. "That won't do any good," he replied. "I'd like to try it, anyway." So we doubled it from 5 to 10mg. He'd been right. Didn't do squat. It came back down, eventually, on its own. IME they almost never do. Back to the BP: Did you see this: Speaking Of Blood Pressure: Taurine Supplementation May Help? Note the list of additional things Taurine is shown to help with. Btw: My BP remains at ±120/80 - even on yesterday morning's check, when I'd inadvertently halved my Taurine supplementation on Sunday. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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Optimistic Cynic |
Like so many other medical metrics, I am very skeptical that there is a "right number" that applies to everyone. I find it more likely that a range of individuals will have a range of values that are "right" for them no matter how much they vary from the "norm." Medicine has not advanced far enough to be precise for each individual, and we must settle for a lowest common denominator treatment regime that may or may not be appropriate for each individual. This ends up leading to other factors influencing treatment, no matter how well-intentioned the provider, factors such as provider convenience, or potential remuneration guiding their efforts and recommendations. | |||
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