Somewhat OT - Blood Pressure should be alot lower

Based on a recent study, it looks like doctors will soon be aggressively pushing blood pressure to be below 120/80 instead of the previous 140/90 goal.

https://news.google.com/news/story?cf=a ... WM&topic=m

49er

49er wrote:Based on a recent study, it looks like doctors will soon be aggressively pushing blood pressure to be below 120/80 instead of the previous 140/90 goal.

https://news.google.com/news/story?cf=a ... WM&topic=m

49er

Great for the pharmaceutical companies...They can sell more pills.

49er wrote:Based on a recent study, it looks like doctors will soon be aggressively pushing blood pressure to be below 120/80 instead of the previous 140/90 goal.

https://news.google.com/news/story?cf=a ... WM&topic=m

49er

I've been hearing that, too.

In my opinion, it's just like with Diabetes......about 12 years ago (about 2003), the "fasting" number was considerably higher than it is now. I believe they've lowered it twice since then. Now, they can say that there are far more people with "Diabetes" than there ever have been and we now have an epidemic. NO......you just changed the diagnostic definition/threshold and now have a lower number to claim the outcome you wanted to show.

Granted, there MAY be some valid reasons for changing the diagnostic numbers over the years......based on various factors, but it could also be viewed as another way of "classifying" people for sucking up more $$$ in medical costs and medication prescriptions.......and MONEY FOR RESEARCH.

Think about it. How many of the "climate scientists" rely on research money to keep working and feeding their families?
They KNOW they'll get more and keep it coming in if they keep saying that "global warming" or (now) "climate change" exists and needs to be studied.......and studied.......and studied.


Den

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LSAT, totally agree that the drug companies are licking their chops.

Den, I would love to see the full study justifying this aggressive treatment vs. reading PR propaganda pieces that don't tell you anything about how these conclusions were reached. Then everyone can fairly evaluate whether there are valid reasons for this aggressive treatment or whether they should be skeptical.

49er

It seems like every decade or so they do this... it's frustrating because then your doctor/PCP wants you to slash your diet and also insists you get more exercise (I do all that stuff routinely, and have every day without fail). If you don't comply then you get your BP meds upped and who knows what that will lead to? It looks like Madison Ave is behind it all, NTM, hand in hand with Big Pharma.. dollars and cents rule the day.

49er wrote:LSAT, totally agree that the drug companies are licking their chops.

Den, I would love to see the full study justifying this aggressive treatment vs. reading PR propaganda pieces that don't tell you anything about how these conclusions were reached. Then everyone can fairly evaluate whether there are valid reasons for this aggressive treatment or whether they should be skeptical.

49er

Here's A link to the story from the NIH (who supposedly funded it).

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2015/nhlbi-11.htm

Interestingly though......one paragraph states:

"The study population was diverse and included women, racial/ethnic minorities, and the elderly. The investigators point out that the SPRINT study did not include patients with diabetes, prior stroke, or polycystic kidney disease, as other research included those populations."

Den

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I did a Google search on "Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT)" and came up with some links:

https://www.sprinttrial.org/public/dspHome.cfm

There are some other "scholarly" links that came up in that search, too. But, I think that's the link to the primary research group.


Den

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I found It interesting because last week when I was having my physical my Doctor suggested I consider taking BP medication. Even though, in my opinion, my BP is pretty good for an old guy - about 127 over 70. I asked him why and he said it was the only thing (medication) that was proven to extend lives. Now, I didn't challenge him on that, but he is one to be a little skeptical about statins so I don't think he just blindly accepts all medical conventions. Anyway, a few days later this study is all over the news and I'm thinking...well, maybe the guy is on to something. However, I'm not in a hurry to take another medication, but I think I will consider it.
BTW, there are a lot of generic BP meds out there so this really doesn't look like it was Big Pharma coming up with a new disease to push a new drug, as we know they are wont to do.

49er wrote:Based on a recent study, it looks like doctors will soon be aggressively pushing blood pressure to be below 120/80 instead of the previous 140/90 goal.

https://news.google.com/news/story?cf=a ... WM&topic=m

49er

Saving more lives or causing more severe side effects making life difficult to live? You have to balance that stuff. A LARGE number of people have significant side effects from blood pressure meds including causing psychiatric problems. Saving lives shouldn't be the only goal and patients should be told about side effects as well. They can then choose whether they want an aggressive treatment or not.

It is not unusual that an otherwise healthy elderly person develops high blood pressure - my mom (who is now 81) is VERY active and almost underweight, but her blood pressure was 140/90 for several years and the doc decided to finally give her bp med. No idea why it was high but most of the elderly in her family who lived to their 90s developed high blood pressure after 70 despite being active and normal weight.

I sound kindof grumpy over the blood pressure thing, but I know of too many folks who have had a lot of problems with bp drugs and dont' find out for years that many of their problems are caused by the bp pills. Sometimes they can change the pills, but often doc doesn't even address it.

The doc can suggest you take more or different BP meds, but that doesn't mean that you have to. Its also up to you whether or not you take what they prescribe. Case in point, I get a reaction from cholesterol drugs (muscle pain) the doc I had at the time kept giving me different ones saying "this one will not give you any pain guaranteed" Bull Puckies, I just quit taking any them. My cholesterol is within limits, or occasionally a little high but I just did it with diet and exercise. The same with my BP, whenever I have to be tested I just make sure I am CALM and in my "happy place" before they test me . I'm sure some doctor would give you a prescription to combat a hang nail given half the chance .

Academia, the only sure job, No consequences for not getting it right, except writing another paper, and getting paid for more erroneous info. Jim

I had a dermatologist once tell me he had a great job, his patients were seldom cured, but weren't sick enough to die.

BTW: He was a great dr, I had been treated for a year and half, with no success, in 6 months he had me in remission, I have been using his treatment for 40 years, if I stop it recures, so I don't stop.

I have thought for a long time that the new BP guidlines were 120/80. My doc told me that if I keep it below 135/85 he would be satisfied. I went for years with being right at or sometimes below the old standard and every now and then well below it but as time went on those 120/65 readings came less and less. Darn it.
Finally I was seeing mostly 140 to 150 over 90 to 110...so I finally agreed to go on the BP meds. I was lucky...a little single and cheap pill with minimal side effects is all I need to keep me well below that the doc has as the upper limit to watch.

Here's a little advice you can take if you want.

If your doctor's office uses a roll-around station (like the Welch-Allyn brand machines) that do multiple things like blood pressure, temperature, pulse-oximeter, etc......and they use that to take your blood pressure......and it seems high.......ask them to do it the old fashioned way with a cuff and stethoscope.
A year or so ago, my wife and I had that experience and the machine was recording higher pressures than the cuff/stethoscope method. So, our doctor's office quit using the machines for the BP altogether as they were finding them unreliable and/or recording higher numbers.
Upon doing mine with the cuff and stethoscope, my BP on two consecutive visits were identical at 118/78.

We also have two Omron BP machines at home which seem to be pretty close to the cuff/stethoscope results.


Den

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How do you measure your BP? I was in the hospital for some tests, and they hooked me up to one of those automatic cuffs that takes your BP every 15 minutes. I was bored, so after awhile I started recording the readings in my phone:

systolic diastolic pulse pressure
9:46 AM 160 89 71
11:54 AM 134 90 44
12:09 PM 144 80 64
12:24 PM 117 79 38
12:39 PM 132 76 56
12:54 PM 133 85 48
1:08 PM 135 77 58
1:24 PM 124 86 38

Ok, so when somebody says "my blood pressure is x/y" how do they know? Mine depends on just which moment you catch it at!

Cathy, at least the doc can tell that your average is more than 120/80.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that it is also in your interests to do a home study with blood pressure cuff before going on bp meds. Something like 20-30% of patients have 'white coat' hypertension, my sister being one of them. They only have hypertension due to anxiety at medical facilities.