When is blood pressure medication absolutely necessary?
My blood pressure is a bit too high. I know it comes from smoking and being overweight. My systolic reading usually runs from 128-138, and the diastolic is 89-99.
I have not been to the doctor, because I do not want to go on medicine. I’m going to try and lower my blood pressure through natural methods such as losing weight and to stop smoking.
Is what I am doing dangerous? Do I really need to go on medicine for my blood pressure?
Thanks!
Tagged with: being overweight • blood pressure • diastolic • losing weight • medicine
Filed under: blood pressure medication
Your BP is borderline and a little beyond but you can reduce it without meds right now. No smoking, no salt or no added salt to your diet, no diet soda (it is loaded with sodium (salt) regular soda has salt also but not as much, reduce caffeine intake, reduce any stress, exercise, no fast foods, they are loaded with salt. Drink lots of water to flush salt from your system. Right now the Dr may just give you a menu of foods to follow and a fluid pill to take everyday to get your BP down. They only put you on pills when diet and fluid pills won’t keep it down. What you are doing right now is not dangerous but if you don’t get it down on your own see your Dr. High BP is called the silent killer for a reason so you have to get it down.
What do you have against medication? It’s better than the risks of having " …strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and …chronic renal failure.[6] Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. "
From the WebMD article below:
"There are several categories of blood pressure, including:
* Normal: Less than 120/80
* Prehypertension: 120-139/80-89
* Stage 1 high blood pressure: 140-159/90-99
* Stage 2 high blood pressure: 160 and above/100 and above
People whose blood pressure is above the normal range should consult their doctor about methods for lowering it."
These methods include stopping smoking and losing weight, of course. But you really should be under a doctor’s supervision and medication until you can maintain your BP at the safe level.