At age 70–or 60, 50 or even 40– should you have the same blood pressure that you had at age 20? Many conventional doctors and most of the Powers-That-Be feel that the answer to that question is “yes”. Conventional medicine loves to issue guidelines. They have issued guidelines concerning weight, lipid and blood sugar levels and blood pressure. New guidelines inevitably result in millions of new patients requiring millions of new prescriptions. Big Pharma loves new guidelines.
To be fair, the Eighth Joint National Committee recently released a new report on hypertension where the guidelines for diagnosing hypertension were slightly relaxed. The committee recommended that for those 60 years and older, the goal for blood pressure was to be less than 150/90mmHg, which is increased from the previous recommendations of 140/90. I am happy the committee raised the numbers, but they did not go far enough.
What is my opinion on these recommendations? For a healthy sixty year old, a blood pressure of 150/90mmHg should not considered elevated. In fact, it is an average blood pressure for someone age 60. To release a guideline that states this is the highest it can go before a person needs medication is ludicrous. What about someone who is 80 years old? An 80 year old will generally have a higher blood pressure when compared to a 60 year old because his/her blood vessels are less pliable. I do not think a healthy 80 year old patient with a blood pressure of 160/90 needs any antihypertensive medications.
This blog post was written in response to an article in Family Practice News (February 15, 2014) titled, “Intensive blood pressure, lipid control didn’t slow cognitive decline.” I would like to ask the question, “Why would anyone think that intensive blood pressure or lipid control would slow cognitive decline?”
As we age, blood pressure naturally increases. Why does that occur? Blood pressure naturally increases as we age because the blood vessels are less pliable. Therefore, as we age, we need an increased blood pressure to perfuse the body. In the elderly, if the blood pressure is too low or they are overprescribed anti-hypertensive medications, they may not pump enough blood to the brain. This can lead to brain fog, dizziness and falls.
Similarly, aggressive lipid lowering with statins and other medications can (and should) be predicted to cause brain problems. The brain has one of the highest concentrations of fat in the body. Lowering lipid levels by using drugs that poison crucial enzymes should lead a reasonable person to predict that using these drugs will result in a decline in brain function. That is exactly what happens with the use of lipid-lowering medications. In fact, the use of lipid-lowering medications has never been shown to increase longevity in the elderly.
What can you do? Be cautious if your health care provider is prescribing too many medications. And, if you are taking medications that are causing problems with your brain, seek another opinion. Remember, you are ultimately in control of your own health care decisions.
Are there other options to control elevated blood pressures and lipid levels? Yes! Start by cleaning up your diet—avoid refined food including items made from refined sugar, flour, salt, and oil. Eat a whole food diet free of hormones and pesticides. Drink adequate amounts of water and exercise daily. Walking is an excellent way to exercise. Following these simple steps will lesson your chances of developing hypertension or lipid abnormalities.
An Australian study has found that some blood pressure medication strongly increases the risk of developing cataracts. The two categories of drugs linked to cataracts are beta blockers and ACE inhibitors. Beta blocker users were 61 percent more likely to end up having cataract surgery, while users of ACE inhibitors were 54 percent more likely to require surgery.
http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/health/drugs/news.php?q=1400270963
Thank you so much Dr. Brownstein/ I took your advice about low thyroid and the inderol is helping/ finally, the very dark circles and nail ridges are disappearing/ I will be 79 in August and when the dentist took my BP it was 112/66 and I take NO prescription meds! I had a rough patch in 2010 after dental surgery–they made me take a lot of heavy antibiotics and I had some serious muscular problems. But, I’m gradually getting my old self down here in FLorida. It’s just a shame how the doctors overprescribe to these old people. Many are highly irritable, anxious, and ready to fight over nothing. Why doesn’t someone push our politicians to do something? Well, anyway, thank you so much. x
cheers SE
Dear Suzanne,
Glad you doing better!
DrB
First I want to say I love your book on Thyroid Disorders and agree that conventional terminology of diseases needs to be recognized as just that, terminology for set symptoms related to and end stage disease process. I believe that most diseases are a result of a ‘diabetic” state, whether the numbers show it or not. I also believe that we all jhave a chance to be born with combinations of endocrine syndromes that develop toward MEN during our lifetime. Chronic pancreatitis is considered rare but is surfacing more and more, but associated parathyroid disease that is usually recognized as associated with this disease is not recognized until levels are extreme, because of the standard use of lab values for considered norms, My calcium lies baseline at 9 and when I develop a kidney or biliary stone it jumps to low 10 range and I am not considered unwell enough or treatable even though they see I have 2 enlarged parathyroid glands, The combination of high and low blood glucose levels in addition to high and low calcium levels cause confusion, forgetfulness, and fog. I have a philosophy relating issues also of calcium and iron levels to anemia and parathyroid disease. I have lived with these issues for most of my life and I am only 50. As far as blood pressures, I know many who live with low blood pressure for most of their life and when it elevates it is not recognized as being elevated. My Mother on the other hand has had episodes of elevated blood pressure and when treated has frequently had her medication adjusted because of the low episodes which I think are her normals. (90-110/60-80 with highs of 180/98 at different points in her life) . I am not sure I agree with the parameters for treating high blood pressure these days.
Thank you for this article. I am seeing this played out in my own family. My brother-in-law is on these medications, and his brain has deteriorated. In the past 3 years, he has gone from being an active, funny guy into being a zombie. He sits and stares out of the window all day. He no longer drives. He no longer will eat properly. The family has tried to get him to stop taking the medications, but he refuses. He doesn’t seem to even be aware there is a problem. These drugs are poison to people.
I’m glad to see you address these guideline topics.
A diet rich in magnesium may help, as will moderate exercise as you note above. One of the cardinal issues in endothelial dysfunction is loss of nitric oxide production. I would like to hear your take on herbal, nutrient and pharmaceutical intervention.
Despite the change in the guidelines, doesn’t any 20mm/10mm BP over 115/75 increase still increase risk for cardiac events?
(Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et al. Seventh report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Hypertension. 2003 Dec;42(6):1206-52. Epub 2003 Dec 01)
Finally somebody is saying this! It makes perfect sense, but I have NEVER read this anywhere else, and my doctor thinks my blood pressure should be 120/80, even though I am 61 years old. Mind you, because I tend to have low blood pressure, when in the office it was only 130/85 the last time I saw her, and she didn’t say anything.
Is it possible for beta blockers can result in weight gain?
My husband had Aortic Value replacement, he is on Atenolol 25 mg. to keep his blood pressure down. He is always complaining about being dizzy. falls occasionally and finds it hard to even walk. He is 82, in good heath otherwise.
Penny,
He needs to be evaluated by his doctor. Make sure his blood pressure is not too low,
DrB
My dad was robust and healthy when in his 60s. The docs told him–no eggs, no butter, skim milk only, no coffee, no salt and put him on a drug to lower blood pressure. I witnessed his slowdown. He lost weight, became pale, cranky, and difficult to deal with. He started to have severe nosebleeds that were difficult to stop. His favorite breakfast had been bacon and eggs and toast with lots of butter. His Sunday evening treat (every Sunday) had been buttered popcorn with lots of salt. He popped this himself. Breakfast now consisted of rice krispies with skim milk, decaf coffee, and dry toast. His Sunday evening snack stopped completely since he found he didn’t like popcorn without the butter and salt. It’s a shame what highly trained specialists (MDs) have done to our people.
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Excellent; this so needs to be said; medical research has been corrupted in our time by biased drug company research and doctors have become their sales outlets.