In the news today, medical experts have just changed the limits for high blood pressure. The old numbers were 140/90 signalling hypertension. The new cutoff is 130/80. "Normal" is still 120/80.

That means that millions of people who were "near normal" before are now classified as hypertensive. The reason, they claim, is that even a slight rise in BP leads to other serious illnesses.

But the effect will be lots of new prescriptions for statins, and the hidden effect will be that little box on insurance applications. Now, millions of people will have to check that "Have you been diagnosed with hypertension?" box. Watch your insurance rates go higher than your BP, folks.

I see you still wear your Tin-Foil Hat.

Getting your BP lower than 130/80 is a good thing. Statins are not always a bad thing. Life style changes, taking the correct (for you) meds, and making your health a priority is a good thing. Being on Medicare, they can't do much to my 'insurance rates'

I see you still believe in the tooth fairy, steve.

I see you still believe that everything is a conspiracy to benefit the evil insurance companies and the evil corporate America.

Hold on, while I go get my popcorn!

They just love to move zero.

Happens all the time,one day you are fine ,the next day you are going to explode.

The rates will go up just wait and see.
Sac make some more popcorn.

Dogs, my blood pressure dropped 20 points within a month of starting to have pets again...

Phil

My heart seurgeon told me to keep it under 135/80 almost a year ago

Well then, I have been seriously ill for longer than I can remember.

Sorry, but statins are to treat high cholesterol, not blood pressure.

Strokes are real, and they are serious, and are all too common. WTF should medicine do about it? Can't get ALL people to exercise, drop big weight and eliminate salt in their diet. Let's also be very aware that does not help everyone with hypertension. How do you want medicine to treat this?

The idea that it is automatically a conspiracy between medicine and "Big Pharma" (love that....) is a joke since most BP and statins have gone generic.

Yes, cardiovascular disease is a big problem as America lives longer and ages. Strokes are no joke. Medicine is trying to combat that. What do I think of these guidelines? I think medicine is too fixated on absolute numbers. Total cholesterol of 195 is ok but 210 is not? That 15 points isn't going to make a difference in anyone's lifespan.128/82 is passable but 131/83 is not?

I'm sure the stats show a correlation between lower BP and fewer vascular incidents. Older folks with hardening of their arteries develop a wider pulse pressure, the difference between systolic and diastolic, like 150/80. With those folks, forcing the top number to 130 when they've been running around with 145-150 could cause hypotension and falls. So, you gotta use common sense with that. Falls in the elderly are a major concern, a major cause of morbitiy and mortality.

I remember when they were doing similar with blood sugar. There is a down side to over control, hypoglycemic reactions in type II diabetics. I think they've adjusted the target blood suger a bit.

So, we'll see how the 130/80 target works out. I don't think it's going to be Kosher across the board, especially with older folks. One size may not fit all.

We'll see.

DF

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I agree. These numerical guidelines are not based strictly on a body of research, but on a diagnostic convention agreed upon within a profession. Moreover, like blood glucose, blood pressure is a continuum, forming a more or less normal curve. It is certainly not binary, but for diagnostic purposes, above a number you have it, below you don't, and it is so noted on your chart, likely forever. It may or may not affect your insurance eligibility or rates, but it can also affect your driving privileges. In this state a driver's license application or renewal form has questions about such conditions.

There are also problems with test accuracy. In most medical practice it's like a snapshot, not multiple samples to reduce sampling error, and its accuracy may be affected by conditions at the time. Around here, when you have an appointment, you are typically led into an examining room, and an "assistant" or "technician", not a real nurse, quickly slaps a cuff on you and charts the reading. If you are not relaxed, or have eaten recently, it may be high. The other day mine was 146 over around 90, but when I am calm it is usually in the area of 120/70 something. You may not have another appointment for a year, but the number and diagnosis remain. After years of blood glucose in the prediabetic range, about six years ago my A1c hit 6.7 and the doc proclaimed me diabetic. Through diet and exercise I dropped it quickly to the mid 5s where it has remained. However, whenever I go to a doctor they look at my record and say "Oh, you're diabetic." Maybe, but what does it really mean?

It's a bit like taking a rifle, firing one group, and proclaiming its grouping ability on that basis.

Doesn't give me a comfortable feeling.

Paul

I typed "statins" without thinking. Thanks for the correction.

I didn't mention "conspiracy" anywhere. Nor do I think this is one. But insurance companies know that hypertension leads to other serious problems like kidney failure, strokes, and more. They already raise their rates for anyone with hypertension. And because the definition of hypertension has now changed, that means lots more people will be charged more for insurance.

On the drug issue, the same applies. Doctors who did not prescribe medicines for people not hypertensive under the old rules will start doing so now. Again, NOT a conspiracy. Just the way things will progress.

The researcher claimed that significant change could be from daily exercise of 30 min or so, little or no alcohol, low salt intake. He was saying that more meds may not be that necessary. Now, this guy is a researcher from some ivory tower institute. In the real world, pushing those BP numbers will mean more meds, no doubt about it.

These recommendations change from time to time. I remember wihen butter was bad, margerine was good. Now, margerine in bad, butter is good. So, we'll have to wait and see how all this shakes out.

DF

My answer wasn't all directed at your post. Sorry that I did not make that distinction. There are too many that automatically go to "Big Pharma" /medicine are in cahoots.

Back in the old days, 1977, when I took my first EMT class, 100 + your age/80 was considered normal BP. the 130/80 number was around at least 10 years ago. I ran 110/60 until my early 50's and then started climbing. I am 130/70 on meds, I think dropping 30lbs. would get me off the BP meds.

Gee, I guess they just don't buy the given lifespan of "three score and ten and if by strength more" and conceive more antihypertensives ($) are just the ticket to another 9 mos (if that) in the nursing home.

IMO, patients I see are way over-medicated the way it is; polypharmacy is rarely a benefit.

i have a Dr. appointment in two hours about BP,
haveing weird issues that all the googlefu won't anwser.
I'm medicated for high BP and some times my numbers are 130ish/mid 90s
couple hours later I'm at 180/130, for no rhyme or reason, and hour later back
down again, never really low enough but no idea what is going on.
I'm in my mid thirty's I could stand to lose about 10-15 lbs. I drink very little, no smoke,

Is mine bad? I just checked it at 110/59 & 110/64? The heart rate is 73 same as my age.

I'm sure, over the entire population, those with a pressure of 130/80 are more likely to suffer serious illness than those with 120/80. However, is a 40 year old on blood pressure medication for the remainder of his life more or less likely to suffer serious illness than an un-medicated person with a blood pressure of 130/80? I guess we'll know in 40 years. In the interim, I don't see myself taking medication for a BP of 130/80.

Mine is 115/64 with a pulse that is usually in the mid40s. I'm safe. For a while on that front. Cholesterol is a little bit high however and diet seems to have little effect, exercise has no effect at all.

Go to an endocrinologist.

When I go to the VA for my yearly check-up, my visit is early in the morning, and my BP is "high". So the nurse says "your BP is high this morning,is that usual'? I then pull out my record book that came with the BP machine the VA gave me some years ago, and within I record my BP at various times of the day.( If you guys don`t have one,Machine, get one, it`s quite revealing.) If I average my BP, it`s close to "normal" or what was normal. I`ve also dropped 30lbs, and have kept them off.
Anyway, with the record book I can show them they don`t know what their talking about, and they drop pushing the drugs.

I'm on BP medicine. Mine bounces all over the place, 125 to 130 over 75 to 80 is about average for me, but it is sometimes higher, and sometimes lower. If I take it when I've been resting for a while, it can be as low as 115-60. If I take it after being active, it can be 140-85. Just depends.

Good idea.

Years ago when I was actively trying to get an a handle on my blood glucose I kept records of my home tests, and had regular appointments with a dietician/diabetes specialist.

When I handed her a copy of my daily finger stick numbers she said "Oh, you've brought me paper".

I replied "I've brought you data."

Paul

I have watched my blood pressure over the years! At 67 I have been averaging 128/70 this is a three year average! Talking to my Dr. About blood pressure he said, since I see you when your in pain or sick, I expect your blood pressure to be a little high! What's normal for one person might be ten points different for another person! That's why three years of data points! The last four checks were 120/60, 125/60, 130/65 and 120/60. I don't do any focused exercises! I do lots of walking, and wood cutting, playing with grand children, things like that everyday work! I did notice that when I retired my blood pressure dropped slowly, as did my weight. Went from 185 to 165 in about a year, not by diet just no salesmen bringing doughnuts, not setting on my butt in meetings, half the day!

The lower the standard is, the more folks can be put on drugs!

I'm 70, and I have a heartbeat app on my iPhone - I'd have to jerk off to get mine anywhere near 70.

If they check my BP early in the morning before I've had a lot of coffee, then 105 over 70 would be my upper limit. 100/102 over 68 would be my norm. I've even had it lower and they look at me to see if I'm awake.

At 55 years and 15-20 lbs too heavy, mine runs around 126/68 if I'm not talking politics.

I'm gonna die one day , that is something I can't avoid and the doctors can't prevent.


Mike

Cubed with IQ.

of course, and we all know that they are really .gov mind-control drugs too. Gotta keep the natives calm and sedated.

Where is my tin foil?

so now i'm borderline hypertensive along with borderline fatass and borderline fuggen nuts. great.

Guys it is so easy to control with the right meds that there should be no excuse not to. There are five different families of bp meds, so if one isn't working, change something. +1 on having your own bp digital read out cuff. Like was mentioned you need to be calm when you get led into the room and just left to sit there for like 5 minutes. Do you know that just crossing your legs raises your bp!? Also it is lots easier staying calm if they send you in with the old, ugly bp taker. I think that my doc keeps one on staff just for bp. Us Scorpios are all the same.

Dissenting opinion, FWIW.... plus some possibly useful information.

Our local clinic has a PhD expert in hypertension on staff, and my doctor referred me to him to help manage my BP. The opinion he expressed to me was that yes, high BP is bad, and it does cause problems. But for a guy in his 70s, with no heart disease or diabetes, it doesn't hurt at all to run 150/80. In that case, the BP risk factors about balance the risk of falling from hypotension. So I quit sweating it so much.

I dropped a supplement that I had been taking, and it dropped me about 15 points. I'm presently running in a pretty safe area, and feel good.

One of my BP meds has the side effect of reducing pulse rate, and mine is typically very much on the low side anyway. So I followed an example.....



The stats on my BP with and without that drug showed absolutely no effect on BP, but a significantly higher (better) pulse without it. So I quit taking it.

142/89 a few minutes ago ran out of meds yesterday.

Medical and insurance establishments manipulating chit for money.

Yep.

Doesn't mean you need to stand out in the traffic...

DF

It's normal for your blood pressure to fluctuate during the day when you're active, that's why you're supposed to take it first thing in the morning after you have been sitting for at least 10 minutes with your feet on the floor. Then take it several times because it will still vary some. I got my yearly physical exam last week and my blood pressure real high (160 over something) because I drank a LOT of coffee that morning trying to wake up from staying up late the night before. The next morning it was back to my normal 120/70 (sometimes it's slightly lower than that). I don't take blood pressure medication.

DANG Gunner, your OLD !

Glad your not having to take BP Meds yet, like the rest of old farts. Actually, I'm two years older than you.
I'm also about 20 lbs over over weight. I have to take BP Meds to lower my tachardia. Basically, every one in my family has a heart rate of around 90 to 95. BP Meds lower it to 75 bpm and makes my BP run at 105 / 70.

Old maybe, but a HOSS of a dude...

Still a lot younger than Ingwe...

But, that would include almost everyone...

DF

When my BP started getting over 130/?, my doctor started saying that he wanted me on meds. I resisted because when ever they take it in the doctor's office it just goes up. So they started taking it multiple times during the visit, but it was still hanging over 130. He told me to buy a BP Cuff for home. I started taking it in the mornings and at night. Over about a year it slowly crept up almost to 140 and sometimes over that. I was having head aches and got pissed off easy. He said he wanted me on meds, but I told him I was afraid of the side effects. He told me that the side effects of NOT taking the meds was that you can die. I started on Valsartin the next day. Hang around 120/75 now. No more head aches and I'm much more chilled out now. I feel a lot better.

Nope, Rocky is spot on, on this one!

And what about my BP being generally 120ish when relaxed at home, but sometimes not that low at the docs office, especially if I'm there because I'm sick.... nuts...

I keep saying they will eventually lower it to healthy BP is dead....

Just turned 65.

Went to the doc. yesterday for a follow up blood pressure check.

I dropped about seven points from my last visit six months ago.

I'm 132 over 80 now, and my doc. says if it keeps coming down, I may be able to get completely off my meds.

They still want the top number under 130.

Been on a low carb. diet, and have lost 30 lbs. in the last year.

Seems to be working for me!

Virgil B.

A lot of different factors can effect BP. I have the white coat syndrome. I go to the Dr. and the BP rises at least 10 points. I'm constantly in pain from arithritus and I take ADvil. Both pain and Nsaids raises your BP. I have my own cuff, don't use wrist or finger cuffs.Sit with both feet flat on the floor, back against the chair and breath deep,let out slowly. Put the cuff on bare skin,not over clothing.

I changed Dr's last year.He immediately put me on a different BP meds. It screwed up my mind some thing fierce. I quit everything for 3 months until it all settled down.Then since I had some left for my old persription, I went back on that. All these drugs work on your brain, not your heart or blood vessels. Your brain tells them what to do.If you start on a new med and side effects crop up. Question your Dr. I found out a lot of these side effects, the Dr.s don't even know about.

It took me about 6 months to convince this Dr. that my statins were having serious side effects on my muscles and joints.I had to keep quitting and the restarting until the symptoms came back. Don't blindly trust your doctor

See my earlier post about "snapshots". If your doc is relying on a single BP reading at each of your visits, he needs to go back and relearn his basic science. To get an accurate picture, you need to record a series of readings at intervals.

Like I said, it's like trying to determine a rifle's accuracy with a single group.

I believe strongly in taking charge of your own health and its care, and being your own advocate. Not the same as "playing doctor", more like being an active partner. A good doctor should respect and appreciate it. I have my own cuff, and take and record my BP and bring the record to my dr. appointments.

Paul

saddlesore's post makes a good case for developing a relationship with your pharmacist. They often know more than doctors about medications, and can sometimes spot problems with the wrong medication. For example, mine noted that Xanax, along with other contraindications, should not be prescribed to patients over 65, and I'm well past that. My primary care doc prescribed it for sleep, and after he retired his successor renewed it.

My VA doc also explained why it is bad news, kills memory among other things, and said that a lot of docs prescribe it because patients like it, called it a "feel good" drug. They leave the office happy.

Paul

Lower numbers might cause a shortage of commercial drivers... or anyone needing the license for other employment... max allowed use to be 130/90 lower that and might be a bunch of experienced drivers in trouble!

Phil

Libs are ok with a BP of 200/130, just sayin.

mine has been as high as 208/135......

my grandmother lived with high BP till 94 when COPD got her from smoking for years.

Her BP could go up to 220, don't recall the lower number..... They tried to get it down, and when they did she could not function, her MD, an old school MD, said some folks are different, try to keep it under 180 and she kept it around that and 170 IIRC.

Amazing how some things work.

I"m just about convinced that no matter what we do, we are here X number of days and not much is going to change taht.... though I could be wrong.

I sure think I"m correct though that heredity plays the biggest role. Bad genes and best diet and exercise and you still have issues. Best genes and don't take the best care of yourself and you are still liable to be here many many days.

same here, my mom has already had high blood pressure. std isue i think. she keeps on ticking.

a lady i worked with for years, a few years younger than me just had an aortic valve blow out. not good.

her husband is a preacher. one would have thought he'd prayed and gained a miracle, but there's a shortage.

while i do believe doctors, medicine & the industry does help to prolong life, when one's time comes there's the decision.

LOL Men, as long as we're still on this side of the grass!

This is the first thing I was thinking, my dot physical is due in spring so we will see.

Some time back, I had an uncontrollable nosebleed. Claudia drove me to a "Doc in the Box" care center. They took my BP and the idiot said "Is it always this high?" and I said "Only when I'm bleeding to death."

I'm on Lisinopril, and most of the time I'm at or under the new "limits" but I really don't give a rat's patootie what the numbers say. I'm 70, active, in damn good health, and if I kicked off in the next week, I've lived a life many would envy. My Doc agrees with that, BTW. Nice guy, for a young snot.

These new guide lines will put me out of service.

getting a dog will lower your BP , this is a proven fact.

will getting two dogs lower it even more? my pack of sibes & half-sibes about done me in. but that was several not just one. lol.

I also volunteer to be the realist in the room. The insurance companies welcome any blurb from any publishing that would allow them to raise rates.

I just got my quotes for next year. It was supposed to have gone over a $130 bucks a month after I sunsetted some coverage. Now with new rates? $20 less.

There already is a shortage.

Between the new electronic log requirements and now these BP parameters they can't get to driverless semis soon enough.

Annnd Big Pharma (aka Licensed Drug Dealers) have just magically expanded their customer base.

It's just magic, isn't it. LMAO. (Not really).

I've sweated a lot of FAA 1st class physicals with the white coat syndrome......just had to make 150.....NFW I could hit 130 syst in a doctor's office....