Q: I’m 48 years old and have had issues with stress and anxiety for the past 10 years. As a result, my BP has been creeping up over the years from an average of 115/70 a few years ago to an average of 135/80 these past few months. I am in excellent health otherwise and very fit. At my doctor’s advice, I am finally starting stress reduction techniques like breathing exercises, yoga, and counseling this week. He’s giving me 60 days to try to decrease it without medication. Is there any chance that I’ve permanently “reset” my BP so that it will never go down again without meds, or is it possible to get it back down to where it was without meds?
A: It is possible to get your blood pressure in control without medication. This is why your doctor is encouraging a trial of lifestyle modification. You might also want to consider use of the RESPeRATE. It has been clinically proven to lower blood pressure without side effects. Personally, I find it very soothing and relaxing to use.
(16 votes, average: 3.69 out of 5)
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A 60 day deadline may cause more stress and anxiety- perhaps home monitoring recorded daily the same time every day will show progress, and give you something to share with your doc when your 60 days are up.
i would change Drs, your bp is not bad and you do not need meds. The medical profession is setting the mark lower and lower so that soon new born babies will be on bp meds.
You’re right! If they still marking bp lower, babies will be on bp medication too. For me 135/80 is fine. If you don’t open your eyes and eat right and exercise, doctors will put you in all kind of medication but they don’t take medication, believe me. Doctors are afraid about taking medication because the side effects….
Agreed with the last post
Yes, I agree with the above posts too.
I practiced yoga and exercised and it did not lower my pressure. I was finally able to get off BP meds by losing weight and eating a low fat diet. There will always be stress in our lives, but we can control what we eat.
I agree most blood pressure guidelines for older people are not realistic.
I’m beginning to agree. My Cardiologist is rabid that my whitecoat syndrome [which he denys exists] pressure when visiting his office is waaaaay too high [About 130-145 over something like 100].
Then I read in this column last week that EVERYONE’S BP rises naturally with age and to determine approximately what it should be for seniors, this column [in response to a question about what is too LOW] indicated that the rough calculation should be 90 added to your age. For me that would mean 90+69 would be a normal systolic average of about 159!!!.
I check my BP at least twice a day [on rising in the morning, and just before retiring at night, and occasionally when I it may be high, which usually it never is].
With the 40mg of statin taken once a day at bedtime, my BP [naturally varying somewhat] runs an average of about 105-115 over 80-90.
I also agree that curent medical practice is to CONTINUALLY “LOWER THE BAR” for all ranges, especially including Cholesterol!!!!!
My Cardiologist is also ADAMENT about NOT taking ANY supplements. He says supplements are a waste of money, but altough he won’s admit it I think he does this to reduce the chance of any interactions and diffulties in maintaining proper dosage balance.
You are right that blood pressure rises naturally with age but so do the consequences; stroke, heart and kidney disease. There is a reason stroke becomes a major concern for the elderly. Systolic of 159 might be average for a person of the age you describe but lowering it by lifestyle changes or meds will lower the risk of stroke and heart disease as has been found in recent years by better control in the general population.
Supplements do in fact work. My alternative doc took me off prescription meds and the supplements work just as well in conjunction with diet and exercise. The diet, however must be STRICT. I suggest reading the book “Eat to Live” and follow it 100% moderation kills, the author states.
yes i feel so doctors are also earning livelihood and to be one up with others many just follow the general trend as detremined by some research published then pharma co marketing prataice etc i have not seen any one doctor who says do exercise or eat the following recommended naturally in food u eat it is all abour money nothing else but reading all this we get average but good idea about BP level in human beings across countries states culture people
my husband was perfectly healthy, but b/c of stress his bp was jumping high, he was put on 2 beta-blockers, lisinopril and metoprolol. metoprolol caused him side-effects like weakness, dizziness, confusion, blurry vision, loss of appetite and depression, impotency,and fatique. doctors kept ignoring the problem until it was too late. i lost my husband and the father of 5 children. i blame exclusively doctors and wrong medicine. there will be no forgiveness for that, for it is all done to get doctors, pharmacologists,funeral homes and lawyers rich. it’s all about business. not about people. remember that hbp drugs cause depression, and depression is #1 cause of suicide.
It is not true that everybody’s pressure rise with age. It is true that most do. However I know many people ,family and church that are in their 70 and have good blood pressure and no medication. The right weight for your height,the right amount of exercise and the right diet is the key if you want to stay of BP drugs and their terrible side effects! Most doctors and all drug companies want you on drugs.It means another $100.00 for the doctor for ever 10 minutes he sees you once every 3 months
I am 59 and experienced increasing BP due to many stressful factors – loss of my mother, alcoholic brother, business decline and helping take care of my 91 year old Dad. My Dr. is a little old school but finally put me on Bystolic and it has helped tremendously.
I disagree with those who think the emphasis on BP is due to some commercial considerations by the medical professions. Having seen my grandparents suffer strokes, having dealt with my parents suffering strokes I firmly believe we need to be very careful about BP. Of course we do not know everything: medicines have side effects, some doctors are more careful than others, some explain things better than others. But the consequences of ignoring this important issue are very severe….this is what I have learned the hard way.
Respectfully, nobody is ignoring serious hypertension. The suggestion that perfectly normal blood pressures are dangerous, and the mission of big pharma to get us all hooked on blood pressure meds because, “oooh, we now know that much lower blood pressures are necessary”, is the facade that is being criticized here, and rightly so.
There is no end to the steps they will take to satisfy their greed………