For diabetics, new blood-pressure guidelines could spell disaster
If you have type 2 diabetes — and all the complications that come with it — the mainstream will try to prescribe you every drug under the sun.
You’ll get one to lower your blood sugar, one for your heart — and maybe even one to control your nerve pain.
There won’t be enough room in your medicine cabinet for your toothpaste!
Loading up on all these heavy-duty meds is dangerous enough. But there is one drug being prescribed to lots of diabetics that could have you on the fast track to a heart attack and maybe even an early grave.
And answering one simple question may be all it takes to keep you safe.
If you’re diabetic and answered yes, but are still being prescribed blood pressure meds, it’s time to make a doctor’s appointment right away.
Because your life may be at risk.
Last year I told you about the Big Pharma cash grab of the decade. It was called the SPRINT study, and it recommended that doctors do everything they can to get your top blood pressure number down to 120 — no matter how many risky drugs it required.
It was also the most crooked government research I’d seen in a while (more on that in a moment).
But docs started writing prescriptions for blood pressure meds so fast they probably gave themselves carpal tunnel syndrome. And it looks like that’s a recipe for disaster — especially as far as diabetics are concerned.
Researchers from Sweden just crunched the data for over 73,000 patients involved in clinical trials, most all of whom had type 2 diabetes.
And what they found was that diabetics who have a top reading of 140 or lower, but are given hypertension meds to get it down even further, are sending their risk of a heart attack through the roof.
This was a well-designed study and the Swedish researchers had a lot of medical data to rely on.
And, unfortunately, the results aren’t terrible surprising.
The meds used to lower blood pressure, including beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers, can cause some of the worst side effects imaginable — including heart problems.
Plus, seriously low blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attacks — and lots of people with diabetes have heart disease already.
Mattias Brunstrom, who led the study, said that he hopes what his team found, which show the risks of “aggressive” blood-pressure treatment, will help spark the creation of new guidelines.
Well, I don’t want to burst your bubble, Mattias, but you might not know what you’re up against here.
The SPRINT study was carefully constructed with top Big Pharma researchers, ones who receive financial support from the likes of GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Merck. And that lineup was put together by the National Institutes of Health.
And with that kind of backing, the possibility that Swedish scientists, no matter what their pedigrees, are going to change American blood pressure guidelines is about as likely as Sweden bringing about world peace.
But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t influence what you do.
If you have type 2 diabetes and you’re hearing that you need to get your blood pressure down, what you really need is a second opinion — and pronto.
Aside from the danger of causing a heart attack, lowering your blood pressure too much can lead to problems ranging from kidney disease to Alzheimer’s (yes, Alzheimer’s). That’s because blood pressure that’s too low can literally starve your brain of blood.
Listen — if you’re diabetic, you have enough on your plate already. You certainly don’t need any new worries added to the list.
Especially ones caused by Big Pharma deciding it wanted to sell another billion worth of blood-pressure drugs.
Sources:
“Blood pressure drugs risky for diabetics” Nick Tate, February 26, 2016, NewsMax, newsmax.com
