They can. But they can also protect your kidneys. Confused? I’m not surprised! This is a subject that many doctors also find confusing. Why your kidneys? Firstly, why should your kidneys be damaged at all? Think of them as a pair of very fine sieves. These sieves filter your blood, removing waste and producing … Continue reading Do blood pressure medications damage your kidneys?
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This will come as no surprise to anyone, but most people don’t like taking blood pressure medication. Thankfully, thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money was not spent finding that out. But the statistics do make you stop and think… There was a study done at a GP surgery in the UK, asking patients what … Continue reading If you don’t like taking medication for high blood pressure, you’re not alone…
What’s going on at the frontiers of blood pressure research at the moment? What are the most pressing questions that we need to answer? In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes key research recommendations to highlight questions which it feels need to take priority for research. This is the … Continue reading Cutting edge blood pressure research
Is it best to take your medication in the evening or the morning? Is it best before or after food? If you are taking several medications, is it best to take them all at once or space them out? Instructions The instructions which come on a box of pills are often something vague like: … Continue reading When is the best time to take my blood pressure medication?
In part 1 of this post I wrote about how taking blood pressure readings here and there can actually cause stress and worry without any benefit. Our recommendation is to either borrow a 24 hour blood pressure monitor from your doctor or take a home blood pressure diary in a standard way. Instructions on how … Continue reading How often should I check my blood pressure? Part 2
How often should I check my blood pressure? What if it has become high or low? Don’t I need to know about it so I can correct it? The logic of those questions seems sound. If something is wrong, unless you measure it you won’t know, and if you don’t know you can’t do anything … Continue reading How often should I check my blood pressure? Part 1
What should your blood pressure be? You’d think there’d be a simple answer to that wouldn’t you? But, then I’d have nothing to write about… Confusing and contentious This question causes plenty of debate among medical professionals and you may notice that advice and opinions you receive differ. This is because every few years … Continue reading What is my blood pressure target?
Doctors split high blood pressure into different levels of severity. Do you know which one you have? And why should you care? All shall be revealed… Let’s deal with that second question first, as it’s the most important. Why should you care? Don’t you just need to get your blood pressure down to target? In … Continue reading Do you have stage 1 or stage 2 high blood pressure?
Last week I wrote about what we know when it comes to magnesium supplements and whether they may help lower your blood pressure. Another common supplement that people take is potassium and this has been claimed to lower blood pressure. Sometimes this is taken as a stand-alone supplement, or it may be used as a … Continue reading Potassium
Beetroot DOES lower your blood pressure! You weren’t expecting that were you? Well, this is based upon some small studies, but it looks promising. Unlike some other supplements, we even have an explanation why it works. So why aren’t we doctors recommending everybody to take it? What on earth have we found to put us … Continue reading Beetroot vs drugs for blood pressure
Interesting one this! There have been quite a few attempts to show that a small amount of wine a day may improve your heart health. And some studies have appeared to show this. Which has got many people excited as they would love to believe that wine might be good for you. But… (you knew … Continue reading Is wine good for my heart?
Many people take a daily magnesium supplement. But does it help lower your blood pressure? The official view that doctors are advised to take is that we shouldn’t recommend magnesium supplements to lower blood pressure. But what is this based upon? And in that case, why do many people take it anyway? What research … Continue reading Does magnesium help treat high blood pressure?
Having low blood pressure can be a real pain. High blood pressure gets much more attention and there is clear guidance available to doctors to help people reduce high blood pressure. Sadly low blood pressure isn’t so easily treated. I wrote an earlier post about low blood pressure and the fact that it can make … Continue reading How can you treat low blood pressure?
More and more people are being diagnosed with high blood pressure and started on treatment. This triggers the cynic in a lot of us (myself included) and we wonder who’s behind this and what they are getting out of it... Here are a couple of statements that we come across a lot: “Blood pressure goes … Continue reading Are too many people treated for high blood pressure? Part 2
More and more people are being diagnosed with high blood pressure and started on treatment. This triggers the cynic in a lot of us (myself included) and we wonder who’s behind this and what they are getting out of it... Here are a couple of statements that we come across a lot: “Blood pressure goes … Continue reading Are too many people treated for high blood pressure? Part 1
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