Supplements for blood pressure

[Vivian]

My husband joined the high blood pressure brigade this week after his first physical in a couple of years. The Dr. put him on what I think is a relatively low dose of lisapril (sp). I'm hoping that if I can get him to work the plan and drop some weight we can wean off of that. It's the first long-term type med for either of us (he's 49 and I'm 47), and I really don't want either one of us to start down that road. We'll see in a few days how his blood work comes back. His parents and brothers and sisters are all on blood pressure and cholesterol meds.

Well, we dragged out the electronic blood pressure cuff that we bought over a year ago and put in the drawer, and checked his BP, then for fun we checked mine, and it was a little high, but I rationalized that I had just done some yoga and had been running around fixing dinner and the usual nighttime routine.

Ok, so my question: I wouldn't want to mess with him too much since he is on the meds, but other than getting back to strict PP and using the bicycle that I got for Christmas, are there specific supplements that I should look into for blood pressure? I take fish oil, krill oil, a multi vitamin, Vit D3, 600 mg of Magnesium and in the last couple of days I've added in 2 potassium tabs.

Anything I should add or change?

Thanks for the help.

[Songwriter]

First, you should take your BP many times, spread it out over, say, a month. Some in the morning (most people, it's higher then) and some at later times. Get a feeling for if yours is even high or not.

A company called Melaleuca makes a product called Pro Stolic, a natural supplement featuring peptides and other things. I tried it but I only got to take it for maybe two weeks and I had a sudden surge of BP due to stress. I went off of it and doc got me on Lisinopril, probably same drug your husband is on. But I would not slam Pro Stolic, as I am kind of weird with my BP. Still trying to figure it out, actually. I want to go off the med if I can but that remains to be seen.

I feel that many people do not need BP med, they can do it through diet and exercise. The typical doc is going to prescribe SOMEthing when you visit him. Very few are willing to try natural means first. Of course, if one's BP is really high, they should go on a drug and work on natural things later.

[Gaelen]

Vivian, start with the diet first. I wouldn't add 'supplements' to control BP until you've monitored your BP for a couple of weeks and know what you're actually dealing with.

Monitor BP first thing in the morning, before moving around or drinking caffeine. If you decide to take your BP at a different time than first thing in the a.m., try not to take it within an hour of exercise or an hour of drinking a caffeinated beverage, and always try to take it at the same time. BP varies within the course of a day.

Do this for awhile, at least two weeks, so that you have a sense of normal rhythms of your own body--my BP typically runs around 110 over 70, and more than a 10-point variation in either diastolic (the top or 'first' number) or systolic (the bottom or second number) means something is up--but I've learned that from monitoring it at the same time each day. I've also learned that it rises slightly during the day, so if I were to take it consistently at noon, it would be around 120/76. Again, I know that because I've done the monitoring, so the slight rise doesn't cause nervousness or 'white coat syndrome' -- I know it will be a little higher in the afternoon than it is at 6:30 in the morning.

Hope this helps.

[Vivian]

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely counting on the diet to do the job. This just give me more incentive. We've already got an index card in the box with the BP cuff to monitor changes.

[Songwriter]

I was surprised to find that MOST people's BP is higher in the morning. Really surprised me.

[Karole]

Me too. I had an episode of really high bp readings last spring and even had to go to the er.

I learned from my own experience and from the doctor that morning readings are very often higher.

It really upset me when this was going on, to wake up from a good night of rest with a bp of 170 or more systolic and 100 or even higher diastolic. Couldn't believe it at first.

The doc explained why this happens but for the life of me I can't remember what it was at this point in time.

[hogweed]

One thing about potassium guys.. the potassium content of supplements I've seen is tiny compared with what’s in your food, so is unlikely to help. Not that that will prevent them selling it to you... a banana, for example, contains an average of 400mg. Now look at your supplement packaging and see what a tablet contains...

[Songwriter]

Update: I am now off of all drugs. No blood pressure drug, no cholesterol drug, no blood thinner, no aspirin, nothing. I'm a happy camper. I can't tell you the name of the product because I hired on with the company but you can contact me if interested. It's a super drink with many cardio-supportive ingredients; l-arginine is a key ingredient but another key is it's in liquid form, dramatically boosting absorption over pills and powders. I've never been so impressed with a product, it flat out works.

[Seymour Spectacles]

One thing about potassium guys.. the potassium content of supplements I've seen is tiny compared with what’s in your food, so is unlikely to help. Not that that will prevent them selling it to you... a banana, for example, contains an average of 400mg. Now look at your supplement packaging and see what a tablet contains...

This is true but you can supplement with higher dosages of potassium by using a salt substitute or a powdered potassium supplement (usually sold as potassium chloride or potassium gluconate). The powders are typically the cheapest way to go.

A few notes however: if you take large amounts of potassium on an empty-stomach ... it will likely cause you some digestive-upset (a stomach ache and nausea, in my case). Also, supplementing with high doses of potassium may not be appropriate for certain people - like those with kidney problems, those who are on certain medications, etc.

Finally, I'm not sure if anyone mentioned avocados. They're a richer source of (lower-carb) potassium than bananas! They're a very healthful food.

[nrobles]

If the science of blood pressure elevation is that elevated insulin retains sodium in the kidney and lowering insulin levels causes a decrease in the sodium retention thus causing you to lose the extra retained fluids, then lowering insulin levels using PP will help. My bp shot down immediately when I began the program and I stopped my meds safely. Another tidbit. It used to be common practice to start arterial hypertension patients on single diuretic therapy for essential hypertension. That was step one of the program. Then, if no response, another bp medication was added.
I feel that relying on supplements only is not the way to go. I'd try just PP and a good multivitamin pill/potassium/excercise etc with close bp monitoring under a physicians' supervision. I'd keep my meds as long as necessary.
I just read a great study about elevated insulin levels and prostate cancer. It seems that studies are showing the dangers of high insulin levels in many diseases. Low carb drops your elevated insulin levels and returns you to health and vitality. Go for it!

[mark45]

You made a great move with the potassium tablets, high blood pressure runs in my family mainly due to weight. Get him to lose some of the weight and watch what he eats, cut back on fast and fried foods ensure that he is on a healthy diet. Exercise and regular monitoring of his blood pressure is very important, plus a adding regular multi vitamin will help.