Blood pressure guidelines are changing.
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Blood pressure guidelines are changing.
I was listening to this cardiologist on NPR today (actually MPR, MN's version). He said they have adjusted blood pressure recommendations upwards for those over 60 to 150/90. Apparently they think the drugs they're using to bring BP down is causing more problems than leaving the BP alone. Also some similar findings for blood sugar. I don't understand how we have figured this out but it's taking THEM so long! Deb http://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/12/24 ... d-pressure
Deb,
Thanks for posting that. I knew there was an important item that I omitted from the list that I posted in my response to Lesley's "LDN" thread. Here's the other item:
7. People who live into their 90s and beyond have higher blood pressure than what has been traditionally considered to be optimum.
I'm referring to this post:
For example, my normal systolic BP is in the 130–135 range (already too low for optimum longevity), but my doctors have me taking BP meds, so that my BP is in the 110–120 range. And I'm taking the meds to reduce a presumed stroke risk, so I'm hung. 
Thanks for posting that. I knew there was an important item that I omitted from the list that I posted in my response to Lesley's "LDN" thread. Here's the other item:
7. People who live into their 90s and beyond have higher blood pressure than what has been traditionally considered to be optimum.
I'm referring to this post:
So basically, a lot of the advice that we've been getting from our doctors (and other so-called health experts) for all these years is associated with increased mortality risk — exactly the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish, namely to live a longer and healthier life.Lesley,
Awesome update.
And don't let your doctor (or his nurse) stampede you into doing something that you don't feel is right for you.
Did you happen to see the 60 Minutes program that was aired Sunday before last (on May 5)? Lesley Stahl had a segment on people who survived into their nineties and beyond. She (and the people she interviewed) explored the reasons why those individuals were different from their peers, and tried to determine why they were able to live so much longer. Some of the reasons were contrary to current medical recommendations. Here are the ones that stuck in my mind, after viewing her presentation, and I was already aware that these attributes are associated with longevity, from my previous research:
1. Either gaining weight, or maintaining an above-average weight increases the chances of living longer. Being thin is a disadvantage.
2. Moderate alcohol consumption (1 or 2 drinks daily) increases the odds of living longer by 10 – 15 %.
3. Drinking coffee is associated with living longer.
4. Neither vitamins A, C, nor E, nor calcium, made any difference in the study. Strangely, they apparently didn't consider vitamin D.
5. Being active, whether by exercise, socializing, or just being out and about, increases longevity.
6. Contrary to USDA recommendations, the survivors in this study generally didn't worry about whether what they ate was healthy or not — they pretty much ate what they wanted.
And though I don't recall this being mentioned in the presentation, we know from other research that once we get past our mid-sixties, higher cholesterol levels (well above the levels recommended by most doctors) increase the odds of living longer.
So there you have it — guidelines for living a long and happy life.
For example, my normal systolic BP is in the 130–135 range (already too low for optimum longevity), but my doctors have me taking BP meds, so that my BP is in the 110–120 range. And I'm taking the meds to reduce a presumed stroke risk, so I'm hung. 
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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A decade or so ago I was taking medication for high blood pressure and medication for high cholesterol. The high blood pressure medication caused unwanted side effects and the statin caused unwanted side effects. I stopped them both. I no longer get my cholesterol checked because I won't ever take a statin again and my borderline high blood pressure is no longer borderline with these new recommendation but in the category of medication unwarranted so the possibility of being told I need to take medication for high blood pressure is eliminated, I hope. The last time I saw my doctor, 2 years ago, she suggested it might be necessary. I skipped my annual physical last year. I just got a voice mail from my doctor's office suggesting that it had been a long time since I had been in and that I should call and make an appointment for a physical. The only reason I can see to do that is to keep on the good side of my doctor. Dietary changes have been the best medicine for me.tex wrote:
So basically, a lot of the advice that we've been getting from our doctors (and other so-called health experts) for all these years is associated with increased mortality risk — exactly the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish, namely to live a longer and healthier life.
Jean