General questions about hbp

Hi Amy,

I'll tell you what I know (admittedly limited).

(1) If his BP is in the normal range, there should not be any damage done to his body. Keeping him in that range is incredibly important. That is what the medication is for. You should confirm that the medication is working by making sure that his levels stay in the normal range with a home monitor. Some meds take 2 weeks to kick in, so make sure you keep measuring for several weeks. As long as the meds keep him normal, there should be no damage (unless it's a side effect of the medication). Always check the listed side effects.

(2) As far as I know, some damage is reversible and some is not. I don't want to overstep my knowledge here, so I'll let someone else answer that one.

(3) There is a myth that once you get on BP meds you never get off. That is because people do not put in the lifestyle effort to improve their BP on their own, not because something about the meds forces you to stay on them forever. If your husband commits to lifestyle changes, then he should be able to get off them eventually. Ask your doctor about what changes to implement first. Some are more effective than others.

(4) You can build up a tolerance to the meds, but generally that doesn't happen. If it does, then your doctor might switch it up after 5 years or so.

Please let me know if this answers most of your questions. Happy to answer more, or to elaborate on these.

Hi Amy. Let me first of all sympathise with your husbands problem. I was diagnosed with high bp some years ago and as my father died of a stroke I was put on a "at risk" group and prescribed ramipril. However I have found that meds alone are not the total answer and although i am struggling a bit now after Xmas I have found that lifestyle changes can help.

Your husband, like me, is not overweight it seems but I shed one stone by ditching processed foods, crisps, alcohol, sugar in tea, all coffee, takeaway food. I began introducing beetroot and garlic into meals where possible and eat almonds. I walk briskly for 30 mins per day to raise heart rate, not a stroll as HAS to be a fast pace. Obviously no smoking although not a problem to me as lifelong non smoker.

Hypertension is called the silent killer for good reason as there are little or no symptoms. At least you are taking it seriously as most of us do on this forum. You will get many more ideas I am sure.

Good luck to you and your husband and enjoy every moment of being new parents.....it is an unparalleled joy.

Oh, Amy, please get the fear out of your head that your hubby is going to die.  There are millions of people in this country who have had high BP for years (young and old) and who are taking medication to protect the high BP from attacking organs of their body - even without treatment, it can probably be years before any real damage is caused to the body.  The important thing is that his high BP has been discovered and is being treated.

The others have given good advice - certainly adjusting various things in the diet can help, such as cutting down or out on salt, cutting out caffeinated drinks and avoiding all processed foods.

It may simply be that the excitement of the new addition to your family has caused a temporary increase in BP ('good' stress is still stress), so relax and enjoy that new little bundle of joy - congratulations to you both. 

Wow thank you all for the support. We've had an interesting year. Colin had an emergancy hernia surgery, that almost took him from me, than I ended up in ICU after our daughter was born. I had a life thretning conditon during my labour and delivery, than poor Colin got diagnosed with hbp and it just scared us. Wow thank you all so so much. It helped a lot. It's good to know life changes can make a difference. Has anyone heard of the D.A.S.H. diet? 

We are seeing an improvement with diet and exercise. We've made a change for the last month or so, but it is still kind of high, but it is lowering. His hernia surgery was about a year ago, but yes all the excitement didnt help. I'm really hopeful to see it go down! So do blood pressure pills after a while stop working? Thanks again everyone. Wow I'm really shocked to see so much care and concern. Even a week after the post. People are so amazing. thanks!