This standard was abandoned several years ago, but I suspect Big Pharma is not seeing the cash flow in blood pressure meds that they desire. So, the nice people at some drug company called up the government and asked them to do a research on the subject, and the result was predictable.
A number of years ago I believed the doctors when they told me that I should be at 120. I ended up on four BP meds, and when I stood up I nearly passed out. The diuretic kept me running to the bathroom all night, and (grab hold please) one of the drugs gave me heart arrhythmia.
Since then, I have systematically and slowly taken myself off of the BP drugs, and my health has improved beyond anything I could imagine. I can work hard in my garden, sweat hard, and go in the house and take my BP, and it will be around 145.
This "one size fits all" goal by the pharmaceutical mob is nothing but a scam to sell drugs.
PAY ATTENTION: Blood pressure drugs, none of them, solve your problem. They only tinker with your normal body functions to reduce symptoms. 90% of all drugs cure nothing. They only control symptoms.
So, what can you do to get your BP down?
1. Lose weight if you are any amount over your ideal weight. If you will not do this, then go take the meds and live like a big fat zombie until you slowly waste away in a nursing home. So, what to do to solve the BP issue? Lose weight by cutting out 100% of carbs, eat more saturated fats-- lots more, eliminate all oils except coconut, palm, lard, butter, and Mediterranean oils. Cut out ALL sugar, and watch all food in the markets for added sugar.
2. Work out in the sun, even if you cannot work hard now. Get a MINIMUM of 30 minutes in the sun every day. Order supplements for people your age from companies like Swanson. Do NOT take a multiple vitamin from some main line brand. They use industrial waste to make that stuff, and the dose is way too low. Research online at Google to find supplements that have been researched and help control blood pressure and heart health. Oh yes, and eat lots of turmeric in your food or buy capsules. Dose it generously. It also inhibits cancer and relieves arthritis.
3. STOP SITTING ALL THE TIME. If you are online, and you are because I just caught you, make a policy of one hour being active for every hour online. Being active means GO OUTSIDE AND WALK AROUND OR DIG IN THE DIRT. If you do not do this, you will probably have a stroke even if you load up on BP meds.
4. Get off of Drudge and all the sources of sorrow and misery in the world. You cannot fix it anyway, so when online, find things to watch that give you a chuckle. And, beware of porn unless you have zero guilt in watching it. If you would be ashamed of being caught watching something, you are living with guilt, and that is a killer. Guilt causes blood pressure spikes.
5, Laugh more, whistle while you work or walk, or just hum an old tune you love. Sing out loud if you can, and let the world deal with it. A merry heart is good like a medicine, said Solomon.
6. Eat lots of prepared meats (must have sodium nitrites and nitrates) and lots of green veggies. Plant some arugula in pots if you live in the city. Arugula has the highest content of sodium nitrates. Sodium nitrate and nitrite convert to nitric oxide in your mouth and gut and expand you blood vessels.
7. Get off of your meds if at all possible. Your doctor WILL NOT help you unless you demand it. He is terrified that you will have a stroke, and your family will sue him. So, he will tell you to keep drugged up at all costs. If he will not help you back off, either go find another doctor who will, or do it yourself. Start with the last drug added. Cut the dose in half for two weeks, and see if anything gets worse. If not, cut out the last half. Do that over and over in the order which you originally added the drugs. Take your BP twice a day after a minimum 15 minute rest.
9. Make a concentrated mixture of three teaspoons of instant caffeinated coffee in a cup of water and two shots of Vodka, and keep it in an obvious place. Tell your spouse, or family member, to give that to you if you have any sign of a stroke. Do not add sugar to the mixture. Make one to put in the car in case you have issues away from home. This will prevent almost all the effects of a stroke if given within about one hour of the crisis. ERs around the USA are using this now.
9. Take control over your health. The US Government, Medicare, and your doctor do NOT own your health. Find a doctor who totally agrees with you, and tell him your plan to survive, and ask him to give you advice that he would give his wife if she were in your situation.
10. Ignore the nurses. They give advice like blasted nannies, and they get a rush out of taking charge of older people's lives. Stay with the doctor, be polite to the nurse, and ignore her.
11. Also, stop the panic party when they take your BP, They never give you enough time to rest, and you may also have "white coat" syndrome. Your BP will always be up in the doctor's office. Get a BP cuff, and take your own BP at home after a rest.
12. If you have cut out salt, try an experiment. Add a good dose of salt to your diet for a few days, and see if you feel better. The claim that salt causes heart issues has never been proven. Your heart NEEDS sodium, magnesium, and potassium to function right, and THAT could be all your problem is you have heart issues. I eat loads of salt, and my heart beat skips are gone.
13. Get off of Statens. They do nothing but make trouble, and they increase the risk of heart issues, The research is in on that one. Let your cholesterol go wherever your body wants it. I personally tell the doctor, when he insists I do a lab test, that he is NOT to tell me my cholesterol and my PSI. All I want to know it my sodium and liver function.
14 Drink one glass of wine a day, and drink three cups of coffee (caffeinated), and drink three cups of green tea
15. Eliminate ALL junk food, such as McDonald's and prepared dinners. Get rid of MSG and Aspertame, and use stevia to sweeten. No sea food from the Pacific. NO HYDROGENATED OILS EVER.
Hey, Bunkie, you are old, and your plumbing is a bit hardened. If you add BP drugs, they do everything but fix the problem. Stop believing the lie, "You will probably have to be on this drug for the rest of your life." The doctor who said that sure will not believe that lie for HIS life.
Get active, and eat right, and stop getting yourself into stress and guilt, and, VOILE, you will see the BP drop right on down. Wherever it stops, that is the pressure you NEED to get enough blood to your brain without having to stand on your head in the corner to remember your name.
ENJOY
The usual disclaimer applies to keep me out of prison for playing doctor.
I am not a doctor. All of the above is just for you to see what sort of a nut case I am, and the official statement from your friends at the FDA, CDC, and NIH is, "Steve Van Nattan is insane and could get you killed."
For the record, Steve Van Nattan is 73 and feeling great. His BP is around 145 when resting, and he sweats buckets in the Texas sun working in his garden. He tries to keep a weird and slightly aggressive sense of humor, and he hopes to stay as healthy as possible until just before the Lord takes him home to Glory. He is not trying to live forever, not in THIS world anyway.
Back in 2008 a heart specialist from India gave me a sonogram, and when he saw the results he almost got mad at me. He said, "Throw away those blood pressure drugs, There is nothing wrong with your heart."
Copy and print this at once. I may get a threat from the Feds for telling their dirty secrets.
