ADL and Hypertension

Try taking a walk. And retest the BP when you get home.

I'd forget the pleasant thoughts and change docs and medications.

1) I'd start exercise lightly - like around the house, just move more within close range at first. Balance is as important as exercise.

2) Some portion of people with hypertension have that hypertension be salt intake sensitive. There's tons of salt in a lot of food products - consider checking that against acceptable salt milligrams per day.

It's hard at first to not have as much salt in our diet as usual to us in the US, but
after a bit, food's natural flavor will start to seem more complex, or so I hear.

You really should see a competent cardiologist, dys.
My mother has high blood pressure and she is taking medication, but in addition she started yoga and it helped her tremendously.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060601/1953.html

Has the doc talked to you about what is causing your hypertension? If he hasn't explicitly recommended exercise, I'd wait til you clear it with him.

Do you know if there's any relationship to your COPD?

Are you still smoking?

yeah, what she said...

I second that.

It sounds to me that you are really on the edge with this blood pressure thing, and overdoing it can be dangerous. The trouble is, you don't know what overdoing it really is, especially at the beginning.

I wouldn't undertake any exercise programs without getting his advice, or taking the advice of someone he recommends you to.

You have uncontrolled hypertension. I was that way when I drank and followed a single meds regimen. When I quit drinking, I tried some new docs , one of whom took my present meds and merely split them in half so I had a 2 times a day dose or half the amount at each dose. This actually worked better. My BP was at about 180/105 and then , after the abstinece and new med regimen its down to 120/75 and has been like that for about 8 years.

I pissed off my fisrt carido by getting a second opinion because "it wasnt working". When the 2nd opinion had new ideas, I chose them and later that crew at Lankanau Hospital near Philly. Ive since been under the routine care of an internal med specialist who works with the cardios.

Even though I find you personally uncouth, I feel that we should suffer your lack of couth for as long as possible. Now please stop asking a bulletin board for advice and get a second opinion stat.
You should be on a umadin regimen also. But I believe that unless they practice only shamananaism in ABQ, you probably already are.

Interesting.

Listen.


But...Dys smokes.

in that case, there probably isn't a lot of point looking into the other stuff

<shrug>

Dys- Stop smoking, and start walking. Start slowly, and build up from there. At first it might be just around the block, but keep increasing the walking as your body becomes more used to it.

Also, if you eat food that contains a lot of salt in it, it is a good idea to change your diet. Salt just exacerbates hypertension.

Are you taking medication? With your level of pressure, it would be wise to work with a doctor to get you on a regimen that will control the pressure.

As far as pleasant thoughts are concerned, that is fine IN CONJUNCTION with a medication and dietary regimen. I have a great meditation tape that I use. If you are interested, let me know, and I can send you a copy.

Any pressure over 140/90 in either number is too high. It looks like you have a ways to go.

BTW, let me tell you about Mr. P's sister, who was 5 1/2 years younger than him.
She was skinny as a rail, and was still working full time. She had not been to a doctor in 30 years. She was constantly popping Tylenol for headaches.

She was a smoker, and once uttered the immortal line, "There has never been any evidence that smoking did any harm to anyone".

One day her blood pressure spiked, and she had a stroke. Within 4 days she had had a second, massive stroke, and dropped dead.