More On Beta Blockers For High Blood Pressure

I ran across this article on the BBC website, titled New Advice on Blood-Pressure Drug, and it is in regards to Beta-Blocker medication. It may be of some help to you if you're considering going to a Beta-Blocker to medicate your hypertension. Here is that article:

A class of drugs called beta-blockers should no longer be used as routine to treat high blood pressure, says the NHS drugs watchdog for England and Wales. Other drugs are better at treating the condition, also known as hypertension, which affects 40% of adults, it says.

The guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says using beta-blockers can also increase the risk of diabetes. But patients on the drugs are urged to keep taking them until seeing their GP. The guidance, developed in conjunction with the British Hypertension Society, is an update of NICE guidance published in 2004 - but only the section on drugs for managing hypertension has been republished.

The hypertension guidance was not due for an update until 2009 but new research prompted NICE to take a fresh look. In 2004 a large trial was stopped early because the results with newer drugs to lower blood pressure were so good.

About 40% of adults in England and Wales have hypertension and in 2001, the NHS funded 90 million prescriptions for drugs which lower blood pressure.
Two million people in the UK are currently treated with Beta-blockers for hypertension.
The drugs are also used to treat heart failure and angina and should still be used for these problems.

But NICE now says the evidence suggests they perform less well than other drugs in treating high blood pressure, particularly in the elderly, and there is increasing evidence that they carry an "unacceptable risk" of provoking type 2 diabetes.
Instead doctors should use another class of drugs, adding in different ones if a patient's blood pressure remains high, it says.


New Advice On Blood Pressure Drug, courtesy of the BBC

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonist Medication For High Blood Pressure

If you have hypertension, then you likely know that there are literally thousands of possible medications to treat your condition. These medicines can slow your heart down, relax your blood vessels, thin your blood, and do a number of these things at once. Of course, that's just a dummy list of what these meds can do, the list could go on forever (and frankly some of the medical jargon is pretty wild).

I've mentioned before that I am taking Benicar HCT, an angiotensin receptor antagonist with a diuretic. So what is an angiotensin receptor antagonist?

The ARA II medication class as it's called is fairly similar to ACE inhibitors in that it blocks the production of vasopressin, which is released by the body when it is low on water. It concentrates urine, conserves water in the kidneys, and raises blood pressure through a substance that narrows blood vessels (to conserve water). ARA II medication also regulates other hormones and substances, with the end result on the body very similar to an ACE inhibitor, without many of the adverse side effects. The ARA's leave a few other bodily functions alone that ACE inhibitors influence.

I hope this was helpful, in the end, I've found that ARA II medication has worked best for me. It's brought my blood pressure down from 155/110 to 125/85, and I feel good. The diuretic does cause me to urinate more, but I can tolerate that.

Sleep Apnea, The Cause of Many Hypertensions

Yesterday I went to a sleep specialist to have a consultation. I'll be going in early August to have the sleep study done. According to the formula that they use as a kind of 'screening device,' I have a high likelihood of sleep apnea. The formula is: circumference of the neck in cm + if you snore, add 3 cm + if you have high blood pressure, add 2 cm + if you smoke, add 3cm + if you choke or gag in your sleep, add 4 cm. They take the total, and see how high it is. If it's above 48 cm, you have a high probability of sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea raises the blood pressure by not allowing your body a full nights rest. I never thought too much about the consequences of not getting a full night sleep, but here it is. If I do have sleep apnea, and get it treated (and the treatment options are varied depending on the severity), it could further lower my blood pressure, which is now artificially lowered to 125/85.

Smoking and High Blood Pressure

Smoking can cause a build up of plaque in your blood vessels, which gives blood less room to get through, and raises blood pressure. You also take in carbon monoxide when you smoke, lowering the amounts of oxygen in your blood and organs.

When you smoke, it raises your blood pressure, temporarily, by as many as 20 points. And, on tops of all of this, smoking doubles the risk of heart attack, so come on, if you smoke, it's time to stop killing yourself.