High blood pressure: A real silent killer
Why you need to know if you have it, and how to treat it.
(By: Felicity Duncan, moneyweb.com) I recently learned that I have what my doctor describes as “elevated blood pressure” – that is, blood pressure that routinely exceeds the 120/80 mmHg that is considered the top of the normal range, but doesn’t quite hit the 140/90 mmHg that indicates true high blood pressure.
This discovery has alarmed me, because having high blood pressure is a Very Bad Thing. It’s a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke, it can damage the blood vessels in your kidneys and and cause kidney failure, and it can damage fine blood vessels in your brain and cause trouble with memory and cognitive processing. If left untreated, as it far too often is, high blood pressure reduces both longevity and quality of life.
It also alarmed me because I’m not supposed to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure or hypertension, is more likely to affect older people, the obese or inactive, smokers, or people with diabetes, and I am none of these things. I’m only 33, for a start, and I don’t smoke or have diabetes. I’m 1.7m tall and weigh 55 kilograms, giving me a BMI of 19 – right at the bottom of the normal range – so I’m not obese or overweight. And I’m physically active; I do yoga twice a week, I bike and walk about 30km a week, I eat reasonably well, and I only drink and carouse in moderation. In short, I’m doing pretty much everything right, habitwise, yet despite all my efforts my blood pressure is stubbornly stuck at about 130/85.
According to my doctor, my major mistake was in selecting my parents; there is a history of hypertension on both sides of my family tree, and all the good habits in the world are apparently not enough to overcome the power of hereditary. In addition, she accused me of being overly stressed and anxious, which is true, and of eating too much salt, which may also be true (hey, no one’s perfect).
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Stop this at once – you HAVE NOT got high blood pressure – it’s absolutely normal as most doctors in the UK would tell you but you will have if you keep on bothering about it!!
Yes I agree Anne! I am very jealous of 130/85!
This describes me EXACTLY! Except I found out at the young age of 25, I don’t eat much salt either, and yes the parents are to blame!!
I’m also an anxious and stressy type, and since being told last year, it’s like I’m permanently anxious… about being anxious! It’s kinda nice to know I’m not alone in that sense… (my pressure readings average at about 150/90 or 100 though…)
Yes I agree with Annes comments. You have NOT got high blood pressure. High is usually in the mid 50s i.e. 153 or above – even then this is moderate to high. Beware of some doctors as drug companies are only interested in money and often user scare tactics to get it!! Seek out some UK charts or read on this a bit more.
high is when you get to 180.if you get to 200/120 that’s when medication is needed!
Hi Ann and Angela,
Felicity, the author of the article we posted, was advised by her doctor that she has “elevated high blood pressure” and given her genes, she should start to take precautions to assure herself that she does not develop high blood pressure.
It is important that when you have a genetic inclination for HBP and are starting to show signs, that you start to take steps to avoid any further problems. Fortunately, Felicity’s doctor was able to pinpoint possible causes of her elevated blood pressure – genetics, stress and too much salt – and now she can take preventative measures and try to avoid HBP.
A person is never too young to start caring for their health and Felicity is using natural means to do so today in order to hopefully avoid sickness and medication tomorrow. Thumb up to Felicity.
how is your blood pressure resting?this lady has to be very careful not to let her blood pressure go 90/70 which can cause the heart not to pump hard enough!i eat almonds and use total gym to help my BP.at over 50 i have gotten to 138/80 to 148/85.when i exercise or move around it goes up by 10 to 15 points.
how ridiculous! That doctor is ignorant, ignore him
Well, I have to say I agree with Admin and the advice to take precautions now. Good for the doctor to advice early. When my (old) doctor told me I had high blood pressure I asked him when it was normal the last time. He had a look at my records and said: “Six years ago!” And during these six years he took my blood pressure every now and then, saw it rising and never told me! And then he had the hide to say I now needed medication! With early intervention through competent advice in regards to diet, lifestyle, etc. I may never have developed hypertension. I am not on any medication, my BP is below 140/90 and I am on a plant based diet, but I never forgive him for not telling me!
As for hereditary hypertension: One of those things. Both my parents had hypertenison. My mother’s sister as well as my father’s sister suffered from low blood pressure. If it is indeed heredetary I wonder how my great grand father lived to at least 94, i.e. was still alive in 1914. No BP meds then. No one in my family has every reached that age again. In fact, despite drugs, life expectancy has come down. Both my parents were on medication and died as a result of falls due to dizziness (caused by BP meds perhaps?). Mum made it to 80, Dad to 86.
Be it as it may, take precautions as early as possible! As far as I am concerned this is sensible advice and I drum this into my children as well. Look after your health when you are young and you have a greater chance to be healthy in your later years.
Marmotte – are you saying you do have hypertension or am I just confused? You said earlier that “with early intervention ………… I may never have developed hypertension” and then go on “I am not on any medication, my BP is below 140/90 ……..” According to the article this young lady was – to my mind – unnecessarily alarmed by her GP because of a BP of 120/80+ . If this is anything to go by then yes, in America you certainly do have hypertension!
Dear Anne,
We just would like to clarify what is written in the article so that you can make the best decisions regarding your high blood pressure management. The author of the post has an “elevated” blood pressure reading of “130/85”, and not 120/80.
The author in the beginning of her article only refers to anything above 120/80 as a cause for concern that requires preventative measures right away which include: eating healthy, exercise, reducing stress and other natural lifestyle changes.
There are many ways to help lower blood pressure that do not involve medication. What steps are you taking to manage your blood pressure?
My BP was 160/90 when the doctor finally told me and I don’t know for how long it had been that high, because he never told me! This is hypertension. I was on medication for about one year with terrible side-effects. I weaned myself off medication (I do not recommend this to anyone else!) and commenced a plant based diet. (Dr J McDougall. I also looked at Dr J Whitacker’s recommendations, which I did not like that much because I did not want to take supplements and was happy with vegan meals). Once you are diagnosed with hypertension this record will follow you for the rest of your life. So every time it goes past 140/90 doctors cry: “You have high blood pressure!” which becomes very disconcerting, especially if it is a doctor who believes BP meds are the A and O of good health care. I too believe that once your BP starts rising and goes into the mid 130/80 it is really time to do something about it before it goes higher. You really have nothing to lose by changing lifestyle and diet. A healthy, or healthier diet, has only benefits.
“The K-Factor” by Richard D Moore, MD, is also a very worthwhile read.
No salt, statin, BP tablet. I have roaring White Coat Syndrome which means 150/160 over 90 in the Surgery – rarely above 135/65 at home which I am entirely happy with. The home readings – and the monitor has been checked out in my doctor’s surgery – make that a pretty average reading for my age – 73. I just get so cross with the “worried well” who, given a healthy diet and exercise, which, after all is just good, plain common sense, have no reason to be further alarmed by the pharmaceutical industry. I don’t think in the UK doctors are quite so led by the nose by this industry – but I may be wrong on that one!!
Erratum! For “pretty average reading”, make that “pretty good reading”!
Yes 130/85 is a good number but since it is technically pre-hypertension it can develop into hypertension. You have to keep an eye on it. I had similar readings two years ago and then a year later it was up to 155/102 so it can get out of control. I would absolutely agree on the plant based diet. It normalizes both BP and cholesterol. BP meds will not make you live longer or reduce incidence of heart disease in most cases. They’ll make the life you’re living miserable with side effects. They treat the symptom but don’t address the underlying cause. Docs won’t tell you that.