High bp. Lower figure

There is nothing else you can do.  I lost 15 kg from 108 kg down to 93 kg but my blood pressure did not diminish at all.  There is nothing you can do with diet either for example eating "healthily" as you suggest.

In about 10 or 15 years time, there will be medications tailored to your genotype which will permanently remove your high blood pressure.  In the meantime take the pills.  Take them in the morning.  In the evening, at night take a small glass of red wine.  It will relax you and is a timeless remedy for dealing with problems of the heart.  You must try to avoid stress (although life is stressful).  Also, take an Omega 3 pill every day, buy good stuff formm the Nature shop or special pharmacy.  In the long run, cardiologists will agree that omega 3 stems many arterial and cholesterol problems.  Finally take 1000 mg of Vitamin C every night.  Vitamin C keeps diseases at bay.

Hi Cathy. I am going to be very indelicate and ask you what your weight and height are. It seems you are doing all the right things Cathy but weight/height and therefore BMI does have a bearing on bp (amongst a lot of other factors)

Reply when you can. And try not to worry!

Hi Cathy, If I were you I would be taking some action about the high BP. Usually, in mature people, it is hardening of the arteries which is the culprit. Get, and keep, your cholesterol level down to about 4.5. You will probably need medication for that if your reading is a lot higher but reducing weight and rigorous exercise will help. Also have you considered taking a small dose of Aspirin every day?

Kind Regards... Alex

 Cathy are you on bp medication?  if  so what are you taking,  and there is no doubt a 30 min walk every day will help you, it is worth a go, and you will feel amazing  I promise...

Take care

Your systolic figure of 133 in my opinion is not a reason to rush to take medication. i know 120 is always used as the optimum figure but an average taken over a week or so [2 readings taken twice daily] is more revealing than just a single reading.Also  was your reading taken at the surgery therefore possibly 'white coat'. Have you had a 24 hr monitor? Most surgeries will give you one of these if you ask and they are a far better indicator of hypertension than just random readings.

 Once you take BP medication you will be on it for life and your medical notes will be marked accordingly. Call me a cynic but my opinion of doctors is that they will put you on medication [if you let them] as then they have the control and actually will feel they have done their duty to you. They seem to think that  is easier to do that than to encourage you to make life style choices as most people don't stick with them.

It's still a very sore point with me that when I was found to have hypertension [I had one of those NHS health checks] the dr said I would not be able to sort it on my own and I would definitely need medication. It was 163/90 - much higher than yours - and I determined to prove him wrong by altering my life style. I did all that you've done but also  drastically reducing my salt intake. I never thought I could do that but it's suprisiing that now just the slightest bit of salt seems too much. It was only when another dr at the practice said if I was her mother she would be insisting I took medication, that I was persuaded to do so. Since then, over 2 years ago, I just take the very lowest dose possible of Losartan and it keeps my pressure at well below 120/75. 

 I was told to aim for below 135/85. 

 

OK so, high blood pressure is a complex mechanism that differs in people.  What the doctor recommends is the result of trials on many people of a given race and age.  So for example, the doctor may recommend losartan or perindopryl and amlodipine because trials have revealed that there is a benefit to most people.  If you go on the meds make sure the GP gives you a blood test after a period of observation (say the meds may mess up your liver).  The pills also have side effects.  Your blood pressure may be consistently high or it may peak at certain times and situations.  We are all very different but there are probably half a dozen reasons that act in combination causing some variety in the longitudinal dimension (time) so you need to take many readings and then see if the medication or the practice that you chose to adopt "cures" the symptom (consitently high, or peaks in some situations).  One idea may be to pay 120 quid or so and send a spit sample for genetic analysis to the wife of one of the Google founders.  She created a company widely advertised I think called 23 and Me which looks at your DNA. Although it will not completely sequence it, it will do it sufficiently to the level of certain SNPs and you will learn a lot about yourself.  It will also tell you how Celtic, how Anglo-Saxon, how French you might be, where you come from.  This may help you research drugs that worked better in certain populations.  It may give you a clue about your intolerance to certain meds.

Meds are important because in the final analysis many died in their 50s from high blood pressure and such people now live into their 80s.  Thinning your blood my means of aspirin could be OK but consider that blood thining carries a slightly higher risk or stroke or brain haemorrage (although at your age do not worry).

It seems you are unhappy with your weight.  You must do two things simultaneously. You must try to eliminate all carbs for say 5 days and then have a carb meal for one day and continue that regime.  Measure your weight loss progress with Ketostix by Bayer.  The second thing to do is exercise but the best form is the one you do not notice.  If you volunteer to do some physical job with objectives, for example build the props for a theatre performance, tile a bathroom, do not let specialist do it, learn and do it yourself, cutting the tiles yourself.  Install a new kitchen yourself, living on the floor.  Change your front door for a French Huet door (far superior to any Brit door etc).

Hi Cathy. Me again. Blimey, your post has lit up the forum! All good advise, but quite daunting trying to pick your way through it!

Thanks for answering my query about your weight, always a difficult one to ask a lady! OK, so you are slightly overweight, not convinced you are obese tho. Yes, you need to lose weight and it will help lower your bp. You need to exercise daily. A half hour brisk walk, so your heart pumps more, is all that is required. You need to avoid processed foods. Cut out added salt. Don't smoke. Don't drink, although a small glass of red wine daily can help some people, but no spirits at all. Include beetroot, olive oil and garlic in recipes where appropriate. Try some relaxation techniques that work for you. Buy a bp monitor from Tesco, cheap but accurate. Take 2 readings morning and night 5 mins apart and put the results in a small book to show GP in future. Remember, high bp is partly generic although lots can be done to improve situation by simple life style changes. Cathy, one more thing. Only you can do it...no one can do it for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

My Hospital Hypertension Unit, which I was referred to by my GP, told me to obtain an average of AM and PM readings of less than 135/85 (without any medication it is 170/110).  I have reached these figures satisfactorily, after many years (20) of 'trial and error' and a lot of debilitating side effects.  I am 71 this year.  Yours is not so high and it may be worth waiting a few years but check it regularly.  I wish you luck with it.