Blood pressure

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Radio Man explained on 21/08/2021 :

Yep, no noticeable difference and the surgery is happy to use either arm.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

alan_m formulated on Saturday :

One of mine does all that automatically. It bluetooth to an app on my phone, then the phone passes on to Excel via email. I also sometimes need to email it to the surgery.

[Paul]

But you would not expect it to be "linear" in some sense.

Some of the abuse to your circulatory system is irreversible. And that means, you can never be 16 years old again. (Shocker)

The reason your doctor wants your blood pressure down, there are a couple good reasons.

1) Dissection failure. One of your hoses burst, like my grandmother at age 80. 2) Heart muscle thickening. The size of the chambers in the heart, gets smaller and smaller, as the heart is overworked maintaining a too-high pressure. The muscle gets thicker. The doctor doesn't want to convert an easily treatable situation into a cardiac ward case. An ACE inhibitor and a diuretic in one pill, might save you from such a fate.

Or, a set of diet changes could do it. But that's generally a "big ask", compared to pill taking.

To me, a working solution is one you can adhere to. Each person knows themselves best, and how quickly they will fall off the wagon. A radical diet for me would last about two minutes :-)

Paul

[R D S]

Not sure TBH, I haven't clocked it, we've been out for a 2 mile walk today though and averaged 2.8 mph over fairly rugged ground. If i'm trying to walk briskly on the flat I can get to 3.4.

[Chris Bacon]

That's not too bad. I like walking on the flat, well smooth anyway, even if it does go up and down, because I'm less likely to twist something.

[RJH]

No, of course - reaching a certain weight isn't going to cure anything. But nothing I've done (diet, fitness and recently weight) hasn't made a dent - it's still quite solidly 140/90.

Problem for me is that all solutions other than those in my gift have, according to the doc, been exhausted. My controlled (10mg amlodipine) BP has been 140/90 for some years and that, according to the doctor, is that.

[Andrew]

You can also do that by buying trousers at M&S who seem to have a different idea on mens waist sizes compared to some other shops/ makers !

[Andrew]

In the UK, everyone over age 60 is offered a quick screen for an aortic aneurysm by their GP.

The walls of your blood vessels stiffen with age. Not much you can do about it, other than exercise, or staying active and not allowing your weight to get too excessive. Plus the big one, don't smoke.

[Andrew]

The only way to get an MRI scan on the NHS is if you have something really serious or enter an NHS hospital via A&E.

Diagnostic Radiology depts only usually work Monday to Friday, days only, no matter how many £millions the equipment cost. Ditto Pathology departments.

[R D S]

I got blood tests and ECG done, all was well but after monitoring BP it was always at best above ideal so I started on an ACE inhibitor yesterday (Ramipril). We will see.

[Chris Bacon]

Goog. My relative had Ramipril, but it caused a cough, so was swapped for Losartan Potassium. If you're OK with Ramipril, most are, go for it.

[Robert]

So you are under 60 !! Over 60's get CCBs if NICE guidelines are followed.

[Bob Eager]

I'm on an ARB, a CCB, a diuretic, a statin, and an anti-coagulant!

[The Natural Philosopher]

One angiotensin inhibitor two anti-anginas, two anti coagulants a beta blocker and a non statin anti cholesterol and a digestion pill to combat the effects of all the rest.

Currently my daily pill gulp is 7 in the morning plus 3 at night plus a couple of off script pills - magnesium and vitamin D in winter .

Plus 4 inhalers a day.

But I always feel grateful I have in fact woken up to take them.

[Dave Plowman (News]

I was given Losartan from the start. Not had any side effect with it.

[tony sayer]

Amlodpine and Candesartan here, works well!.

Seems the Amlodpine works on the arteries and the Candesartan affects the veins....

[Bob Eager]

Amlodipine and Irbesartan here. I was moved from bendroflumethiazide to indapamide for the diuretic - much better (not so much dramatic effect on the bladder, and had marked effect on pressure).

[tim...]

After 6 years of successful use I have become completely resistant to it

Got to find something to replace it with

You can't just randomly choose a BP med on the grounds "it works for him so it will work for me" it doesn't work like that

Meds have side effects that only one in 100 or 1 in 1000 will get. It just may be you.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Often wondered how your GP decides, given the big choice.

[tim...]

randomly IME

of course, when in the surgery, I don't get to see the price per drug, so that could have some effect.

But I do actually have means of checking up afterwards and the cost of many of these BP drugs is so low as to be noise when compared with the fixed cost of a GP appointment and the costs of dispensing.

A course of the vast majority of dugs that I have seen named as BP meds, are under a pound per week

There are a few that cost silly money, but they are the tiny exception.