Don’t be hoodwinked by the ‘new’ hypertension hype

Were you one of the over 30 million Americans who woke up one day last week to find that you’d suddenly developed high blood pressure… overnight?

You didn’t even have to go see your doctor to get that news — you just turned on the TV!

It was one of those “big” medical stories covered by media of every stripe. “Doctors and other experts” from groups such as the American Heart Association (and 10 other organizations) officially moved the “goal line” for what’s considered acceptable blood pressure down to readings no higher than 130/80.

And that move is something which will be stuffing a lot of cash into Big Pharma’s pockets.

It will also be putting untold numbers of seniors at a very big risk for heart disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and death… and not because they have high blood pressure.

A highly risky revision
Forget making your blood pressure soar. This is enough to make your blood boil!

The latest strategy to keep Big Pharma in the black is the most brazen yet — one that would raise the number of U.S. adults considered to be suffering from hypertension to nearly half the population.

And if you’re wondering how this all came about so suddenly, well, it’s actually been a few years in the making.

Three years ago, a group of many of the most well-respected heart doctors out there published official guidelines in the top medical journal JAMA that, for once, actually raised blood pressure numbers.

They found no reason for those 60 or older, for example, to start up on blood pressure meds unless their readings are 150/90 or higher (with the systolic, or “top,” number, getting shifted 10 points higher than where it had been at before).

And if you were under 60, the “no need to treat” number went up to 140/90.

At that time, the panel that released those higher numbers said that, while lower readings are still healthier, getting to those numbers by using risky drugs isn’t.

But Big Pharma has been in a snit ever since, hoping to get those guidelines down to ones more favorable to its bottom line.

The groups behind these latest, higher revisions, of course, claim it’s all for your own good — you know, the hackneyed “ounce of prevention” explanation.

But as we’ve told you here in the eAlert, blood pressure meds are among some of the most dangerous ones out there.

ACE inhibitors, for instance, can cause sudden, life-threatening swelling of the face and neck… and all these drugs can cause sudden drops in blood pressure that lead to dizziness and falls.

And then there’s the risk of artificially driving down your blood pressure too low — especially true where seniors are concerned.

For example:

• A study of the medical records of nearly 30,000 people discovered a link between reducing blood pressure to the recommended low numbers and a substantially higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
• Other research done at Johns Hopkins found that lowering your diastolic, or bottom, number below 60 can make you almost 50 percent more likely to develop heart disease and over 30 percent more likely to die from any cause.
• Yale researchers have found that seniors who take blood pressure meds for only three years up their chances of taking a fatal fall by almost 40 percent.

If you’re over 60 and being told that it’s now time to start up on risky drugs to get those numbers down to meet these new “goals,” it’s a good idea to get a second opinion from a doctor who practices integrative medicine and will look at your overall health, before you rush off to fill that Rx.

Because this big new announcement didn’t change any of the facts — just the numbers!

“New health guidelines say you might have high blood pressure” Kim Painter, Novermber 13, 2017, USA Today, usatoday.com