(Atlanta Black Star) – A stroke is a devastating illness, and can be the direct consequence of hypertension.
Imagine never again experiencing the simple pleasures of life—things like walking barefoot along the beach, licking an ice cream cone, swimming laps in the pool on a sunny day, baking a favorite pie or buttoning a shirt.
A seemingly insignificant yet deliberate action—swallowing a pill—can prevent a cascade of terrible, life-altering events.
One-third of American adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Hypertension is blood pressure greater than 140/90. If you consume more than one teaspoon of salt each day, are obese, don’t exercise, drink in excess of two alcoholic drinks daily, and/or have a mother or father with hypertension, you are at risk.
Twenty-five to 30 million Americans with hypertension are on anti-hypertensive medications, but still have blood pressure greater than the goal (140/90). That’s dangerous!
High blood pressure is a silent killer. You feel fine even as damaging changes are happening to your body. Uncontrolled hypertension causes strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure and impotence. Stroke patients can be left with the inability to talk, walk, or eat without assistance.
Hypertension also can cause heart disease that could lead to impotence.
Here’s one more one more sobering fact: high blood pressure renders the kidneys nonfunctional and urine is no longer produced, leaving waste materials in the body without a way to exit. This necessitates hemodialysis (dialysis). Dialysis is a 3-4 hour, three times a week, life-preserving treatment, only reversible with a kidney transplant.
I have heard every excuse in the book for not getting on or staying on anti-hypertensive medications.
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This was a very informed commentary which put forth the dangers posed by hypertension in an integrated, practical fashion which anyone could really understand.
I have had hypertension for over 15 years, not being over weight or having a poor lifestyle, likely due to genetics and the stress of professional and social life in America. I have been blessed to be on one medication for many years and, once I added aerobic exercise to my routine, achieved ideal readings. Due to the stress of changes in my work routine, I have not been exercising regularly. That was yesterday. After reading this article I WILL be dragging my rump over to the health club THIS evening! Thanks.
Trent, About a year ago I thought the same thing, genetics and a stressful personal and professional life. It was then, that I decided to embark on a nutritional experiment. I went on a plant based diet and over the next two months watched my medication dosages get reduced and eliminated altogether. It then became clear to me that the cause of hypertension was the western diet.
Yes, hypertension should be controlled but keep in mind hypertension is only the direct cause of one type of stroke, which is hemorrhagic stroke. These strokes account for less than 8% of all strokes. the vast majority are ischemic strokes (over 92%) These are not caused by HBP but rather plaque and cholesterol in the arteries. So, in reality to avoid most strokes, keep your cholesterol level in a healthy range. The same vascular disease that causes 99% of all heart attacks causes over 92% of all strokes. Instead of treating with medications that mask the symptoms and don’t address the root cause, why not go right to the root cause and cure the disease by eliminating those foods that cause the disease in the first place, namely, meat, dairy and oils. Go plant based and watch your sodium intake and your hypertension and all other major western diseases will be history. It’s that simple. Minimal or no exercise required!
I only found out about my high blood pressure a few weeks ago. After blood test, urine test, US renal and ECG, the only thing found has been 2 gall stones which I will have taken out in the next few weeks.
I am slightly over the ideal BMI so am classed as overweight, though I eat well, rarely eat junk food or drink fizzy drinks and I started going to the gym 5 months ago. Unfortunately, I don’t want to go on medication as I would like to have children in the future. Sadly at 35, I have probably left this too late.
I suspect the cause of my high blood pressure is due to genetics as high blood pressure and heart problems run in both sides of my family. I am including more greens in my diet and will continue going to the gym regularly including yoga classes, in an attempt to get my blood pressure down.
I find articles like this annoying and condescending. For many people, controlling hypertension is not as simple as swallowing a pill. Side effects of blood pressure medications can be debilitating and some physicians do not seem to recognize this fact. Depending upon the cause of the hypertension, some medications simply do not work. Instead of accusing patients of coming up with excuses not to take their medication, this physician should attempt to understand why they are not taking the medication and work with them to find ways of controlling their blood pressure.
Quote from article: “I have heard every excuse in the book for not getting on or staying on anti-hypertensive medications.”
I agree with Linda. The accumulation of many ‘minor’ side effects can make life an utter misery. I belong to the patients who discontinued medication because my doctor did not listen. The reality is that many of these debilitating side effects can not be controlled and physician will not admit that in these situations it is they and the medication they prescribe who fail the patients. When do physicians get this into their heads?
It is utterly devastating when physicians claim that the have “heard every excuse in the book” and treat their patients as hypochondriacs. I requested my medical records and actually have it in writing. One specialist wrote to my doctor: “She claims to have side-effects that I never ever heard off.” 24/7 headaches that were not relieved with paracetamol, extremely dry eyes, confusion, depression, chronic fatigue, persistent extremely annoying cough, puffy and red face that felt really tight every morning, getting up during the night to go to the bathroom, resulting in poor sleep, not to mention lack of libido, are the ‘minor’ side-effects I was suffering from and that were dismissed as “never heard off”.
My treatment with drugs was trial and error. I worked in the building industry and if I were to build a house on the trial and error method I would have gotten ‘the sack’.
I have been off medication for 12 years now thanks to a vegan diet. My new doctor is a bit more understanding, although he too is concerned about my 138/78 reading at the last consultation. I am often tempted to say: “Look, give me your pencil and I can reduce the numbers without side effects”.
I have lost a lot of respect for the medical profession because of I believe most physicians want to believe that their patients are lying.
This is the common misconception that everyone’s problems are genetic. While a family history may shed some light on increased risk, that risk need never occur if one pursues aggressive nutritional intervention. The bottom line is in order to prevent vascular disease, no atherosclerotic building blocks should be consumed. That means no meat, dairy or oils or any products made from them. No fish, chicken, beef etc. nothing and no dairy of any kind and not a single drop of oil of any kind. Sure this is radical but so is a stroke or heart attack. The medical community is missing the mark by treating with drugs that have little to do with curing the underlying cause of the disease.
Taking these medications gave me a stroke. Thank you very much. got to be a better way than taking these killers. These pills also give me headaches, coughing,dizziness, plus a host other sideaffects.