Is Hypertension a lifelong disease with no hope of ever reversing it?
Posted , 11 users are following.
I've always been an athlete all my life and have been running & hiking up to 10 miles per day for many years. Yet 6 months ago I was diagnosed with Hypertension which I found about completely by luck due to an auto accident. I've most likely had it much longer as a cardiologist found that I had Left ventricular hypertrophy most likely due to untreated Hypertension.
Even though I still exercise several hours every day and changed my diet to lower salt and sugar, if I missed even one day of medicine, my BP shoots right back up to 180/115. So it this something that will never be cured and I'll have to continue taking medication for the rest of my life?
0 likes, 14 replies
eming acerr
Posted
Wish I had an answer. mine shoots up if I miss one day. All doctors seem to give all the same advice...low salt, exercise, blah, blahs, blah,...All say it's just part of aging. Why can't they figure out why so many people have it...even those that lead healthy life styles and diets. So frustrating.
mike92384 eming
Posted
eming....you are so right!!! Hypertension is so common, it's unbelievable.
I read somewhere in the Mayo Clinic blogs that they try to encourage doctors to study more about rare illnesses. Most doctors have the attitude that if something's rare, you likely don't have it..but that can be a very dangerous attitude. Just become something's rare, doesn't mean it doesn't happen..just that it doesn't happen commonly.
I hear all sorts of things about hypertension..some people lose a lot of weight, exercise, etc...then the doctor is lowering their hyptertension meds because whatever the dosage they're taking is now too much. Apparently, the more one weighs, the harder it is on the body, then the heart works harder, thus causing hypertension.
I have a bad atttitude now toward today's "modern medicine". Years ago the medical profession would work to find out what's going on, but now they'd sooner write a prescription. If the issuance of bp meds were dramatically cut down, the pharmaceutical companies would lose an unimaginable amount of money. It all boils down to MONEY.
Even when doctors are trying to find out what's wrong with a patient, if they don't know what the cause is..they don't admit it, but just stick a label on it as "idiopathic"., meaning no known cause. I for one do not believe for a second that the human body would just start doing something on it's own. There has to be a cause, & it's the doctors responsibility to find that cause. Far too many people suffer because the doctor doesn't know what's wrong.
Felis acerr
Posted
i wish i could give you an answer too! I am going to see a naturopath in the new year to see if there is anything i can do naturally to relieve hypertension.
i have read that the dash diet is good ,cutting out salt and sugar ,but nothing concrete! SURELY there is something out there we can do.
Would love to hear from someone who can help!
rosi76422 acerr
Posted
It seems that for GPs its much easier and cheaper to prescribe medication rather than do the tests to find the cause. Go privately if you can afford to.
mike92384 rosi76422
Posted
rosi76422...I totally agree!!! Please read my previous post!!!
I'd love to be able to find a doctor who I could see privately, but I don't know how to go about it. If a person is experiencing any sort of pain, the bp will rise, if they are ill...the bp will rise..sometimes people take meds & even the meds at times won't control the bp. Doctors need to find out what's going on in the body to cause elevated bp levels., but they don't bother.
Conns acerr
Posted
Left Ventricular Hypertrophy was picked up in me in 1977 caused by uncontrolled hypertension. Instead of throwing medication at the problem a series of investigations over 8 weeks were done in hospital to find out why someone in their 20's had high BP. I was diagnosed with an adrenal problem (Conn's Syndrome). My take home message to your GP etc is to investigate rather than cycle through meds to find the combination that works for you.
When you have blood tests ask your GP for copies and monitor the trend yourself. Keep your eye on your electrolyte balance and your kidney function. On forums always good to post this data online as it helps to guide folk in a better direction sometimes. Also get yourself a BP monitor for home use.. Preferably one that bluetooths to your mobile phone so you have a record to show your GP.
mike92384 Conns
Posted
Conns...I'd venture to say you are one of the lucky ones. You at least had medical professionals who investigated to find your problem, rather than throwing meds at you. Blood tests are all well & good too, but if they are just a few points below or beyond the parameters, the doctor does NOTHING...because in a few days or weeks those numbers could fall into the 'normal' category. I think some doctors don't test for the right things in a blood test. If we suggest something, they take it as us telling them how to do their jobs. Lucky for me, my doctor will listen, but will also explain why he's doing things. Other folks aren't so lucky.
VeeWat Conns
Posted
has your LVH resolved?
Conns mike92384
Posted
Mike,
Indeed you are correct. A routine medical prior to leaving College picked up 245 / 125 BP. At te time all very strange as had no symptoms and couldn't understand what I was doing in a hospital bed that same day when all I wanted to do was be in the College bar with my friends. In terms of blood tests, some U/E's which are hovering at the edge of your range should be followed up with more checks - just good practice by a GP. In terms of Left Ventricular Hypertophy (LVH). Last years Echo on LVH read "LV Systolic function appears normal with mild diastolic dysfuntion". So after 42 years of resistant BP issues, you can achieve good results. Never too late to improve things generally.
Conns VeeWat
Posted
Indeed it did resolve. See other post.
jx41870 acerr
Posted
Certainly there are people who are diagnosed with hypertension who lose weight, adjust diets, and see blood pressure go back to normal. I'm one - at least I don't need the meds all the time, take them as needed, can go days or weeks without. And others do better than me.
But there's a wide variety of cases and causes, and certainly many people don't lose the weight and do stay on the drugs, and everyone gets older!
topher53 acerr
Posted
When you say "shoots right back up to 180/115"....under what conditions, first thing in the morning, after exercise, after a glass of wine? Measured with what king of device, arm cuff, wrist cuff.... I'm just figuring out that BP is a moving target that changes through out the day. I've even had a nurse take mine followed by a Doc and got two significantly different readings in 5mins time. How could that be???
And what did the stress test say?
Happyhacker acerr
Posted
Thinking about this. My Mother and other near relatives had it so one's BP level is set to a certain extent from birth. So if it's high during the years one does not need to check it then when older it's only going to get higher. I had a incident of 200/100/90 other day but not dizzy or anything. Pot Luck maybe?
Happyhacker acerr
Posted
Thinking about this. My Mother and other near relatives had it so one's BP level is set to a certain extent from birth. So if it's high during the years one does not need to check it then when older it's only going to get higher. I had a incident of 200/100/90 other day but not dizzy or anything. Pot Luck maybe?