[Fr_Chuck]

I was reading a news article.

http://news.yahoo.com/millions-could...dTogsATdrQtDMD

With this change, insurance companies will no longer have to pay for medication for high blood pressure if they use these new standards are medically acceptable.

Could this be a ploy from insurance companies to save money?

[smoothy]

They don't have to payout for dead people. Its a ploy to kill people off before they are retirement age.

[paraclete]

sour grapes from both of you, fact is, my doctor for years has been trying to keep my blood pressure at 140/80 and its been a losing battle but under this regime most of my recent readings, medicated, would be within perimeters not needing the additional medication that has been pushed on me. It's like the targets they set for sugar and cholesterol, they continually get lower and who benefits, drug companies while patients are continually pushed to take more or stronger medications.

Now next week my doctor will get some more questions and maybe I can get shuck of some marginally effective medication.

I'm very sckeptical about much of modern medicine, I think we would be better off if doctors stuck to treating trauma and did less preventative medicine

[talaniman]

This study is but the latest in an ongoing guideline for high blood pressure management which has many factors involved, and yes COSTS is a factor. Unfortunately the reporting is less than detailed into the nuances of factors and the resulting treatments.

The actual studies have better details.

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7)

Treatment of Hypertension: Insights from the JNC-VI Report - American Family Physician

[smoothy]

Clete... its not sour grapes from me on my end. I am one of the many like you that have high blood pressure. Luckily mine is under control with medication. I see this as a way for someone to save a buck at the expense of a lot of peoples health. 10 points when its borderline can make a big difference over someone's long term outlook healthwise.

[talaniman]

Drugs are useless unless taken as an over all comprehensive individual management program. That's what the studies have said if you bothered to read the actual provided links instead of assuming its some grand conspiracy based on a reported story by a layman.

[smoothy]

Right... its part of Obamacare so we should simply believe anything it says... same bunch that was telling older women not long ago they only REALLY need mamograms every 5 years when breast cancer can go from detectible to fatal in under 4 years.

Meds dropped mine 30 points.....and its stable.

[talaniman]

These studies have been coming out for decades. My own has been managed with minimal drugs but weight loss through a sensible diet. Slow weight loss over 4 years. Comprehensive blood tests TWICE a year. Nothing to do with ACA, just a great doctor/patient understanding, and a willingness to listen.

[earl237]

I take blood pressure pills too, it seems the recommended levels get lower all the time, now experts say below 120/80 is the optimum level when years ago 140/90 was seen as acceptable. I always thought it was a scam so that doctors could push more medications and pharmacies could make more money. Luckily, I can keep mine below 120/80 with exercise and a healthy diet. I've known people who were well over the recommended limits, and they were perfectly healthy.

[tickle]

There is a rule of thumb on blood pressure medications, but only a rule of thumb because all people are different. Some people are functioning normally with a blood pressure that is quite a bit higher then someone else. Their doctors know this, so they don't push meds, but push proper diet and exercise and I strongly believe in this. My blood pressure is managed with one pill and stays at 120/40 and has for years and I am active and working full days and some weekends.

Earl, you live in Canada, do you sincerely believe that pharmacies are out to make money? My pharmacy reduced the dispensing fee from $6 to $4; is that money grabbing. By the way I am a senior.

[earl237]

Earl, you live in Canada, do you sincerely believe that pharmacies are out to make money? My pharmacy reduced the dispensing fee from $6 to $4; is that money grabbing. By the way I am a senior.

It's true that there are some good ones out there, but the majority are out to make a profit, they're a business, not a charity.

[paraclete]

great to have this conversation with you but have you stopped to think we are all talking of taking blood pressure medication, that is a very high statistical incidence. there is a big difference between a reading of 150 and a reading of 120, 120 is what you might expect of a young healthy person, recently I had a reading of 219 and that is medicated, I'm still here, but not being a medico, I don't know what that means

[smoothy]

There is a good reason they call high blood pressure the silent killer... you feel perfectly fine up until the day you have your stroke or heart atack... or your kidneys fail.

I'm highly suspicious when they claim oops we have been over reacting or over treating right in practically the same breath they are saying we are spending too much in health care and need to reduce costs.

Like a lot of people it runs in the family and I've seen it kill far too many people I know.

My brother in law was diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure when he was 17. Like you clete, he has to test his several times a day....though his is somewhat under a lot more control than yours. But its hardly stable as mine is.

[paraclete]

I was once stable using medication smoothy but other drugs apparently mess with blood pressure medication and this may have been what happened to me, all I now know is I don't appear to respond to many of them or the side effects cannot be tolerated

[smoothy]

Trust me... I feel for you there... hopefully something can be found that will work. My brother in laws is still all over the place, but its all over the place lower than it was.

[J_9]

The change is because the medical community has studied and researched and found that issues regarding increased blood pressure aren't what they once appeared to be.

You see, increased blood pressure causes cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), kidney failure, strokes, heart attacks, to name a few. With medical advances they have found that most, if not all, of these issues do not happen at the 120/80 mark, but actually at a much higher mark, 150/90 is the standard now.

Note that the report by Chuck states that this is for adults over the age of 60, not the younger generation.

[paraclete]

yep puts me right in the slot, but what it means is I might have been given important drugs unnecessarily and now I have built up a resistence right when I need them. I'm sick of this witch doctor medicine regime which prescribes drugs unnecessarily so as to be seen to do something and then decides that it is all ineffective or it creates more problems than it fixes.

The doctor's creed used to be do no harm, I wonder what happened to that

[J_9]

Clete, I'm with you. I also suffer from HPB and take meds. Mine mess with me to the point where I have to take them at bedtime rather than waking as it affects me and I cannot take care of my patients properly if I take them before I go to work.

Now, with that said, unnecessarily is a relative term. Times are changing. What seemed to be urgent in the past, with medical advances, has been proven not to be the case. I would also like to add that you are your own best advocate. You need to do your research and not trust solely in the doctor. Why? I'll give you an example, a good example...

In 1994 I found a lump in my breast, I was 29 at the time. I went to the doctor and was told that I had a fibroid and not to worry about it. 3 years later I noted that the lump was larger and it was painful. I was told by not one, but 7, doctors that I was too young for cancer, cancer doesn't run in my family, etc. The moral of the story is that I knew something was wrong, I did my research, I found a doctor who would listen. One week after the diagnosis I had a radical bilateral mastectomy, one month after that I started chemotherapy. That was 16 years ago.

In the end, doctors or nurses aren't perfect. We PRACTICE medicine, we aren't perfect.

[paraclete]

yes I understand the operative word is practice with the patient as the guinea pig and I have come to realise this is no longer acceptable I do research the medications I am given and have told my doctor on more than one occasion quality of life is important

[J_9]

If your doctor isn't listening, it's time to find a new doctor who will. If I listened to my doctor originally I would be dead by now.

The patient isn't the guinea pig unless the patient allows himself/herself to be. The point is, if you aren't happy, and you are concerned, find another healthcare provider who will listen to you. You have to be proactive in your own medical care as well.