Are you 50 years or older and suffering from high blood pressure? If so, you should come see Dr. Cynthia, one of the best cardiologists in Los Angeles who practices integrative holistic medicine.
A new study shows that intensive blood pressure management may help save your life by significantly reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease and lowering your possibility of early death. Holistic doctors, like Dr. Cynthia, are taking note of this study and are implementing more aggressive therapy.
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems. An estimated 1 in 3 adults in the United States has high blood pressure.
Your blood pressure rises with each heartbeat and falls when your heart relaxes between beats. While blood pressure can change from minute to minute with changes in posture, exercise, stress, diet, or sleep, it should normally be less than 120/80 mm Hg (less than 120 systolic AND less than 80 diastolic) for an adult age 20 or over. If your blood pressure readings stay at 140/90 mm Hg or above over time you should see a cardiologist in Los Angeles for treatment.
We now have scientific research that shows an intensive therapy treatment of systolic blood pressure for most individuals 50 and older with high blood pressure will reduce their risk of cardiovascular complications and death. Typically more attention is given to the top systolic blood pressure reading as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease for people over 50 years old. In most people, systolic blood pressure rises steadily with age due to increasing stiffness of large arteries, long-term build-up of plaque, and increased incidence of cardiac and vascular disease.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a clinical trial called the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) to evaluate the benefits of maintaining a new target for systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading.
The SPRINT study analyzed more than 9,300 diverse participants age 50 and older (including women, racial/ethnic minorities, and the elderly) with high blood pressure throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The study began in 2009 and to date it is the largest study of its kind to observe how maintaining systolic blood pressure at a lower level than currently recommended can significantly impact cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
Investigators divided study participants into two groups: standard treatment (participants received blood pressure medications to achieve a target of less than 140 mm Hg Systolic reading and they received an average of two different blood pressure medications), and the intensive treatment (participants received an average of 3 different blood pressure medications to achieve a target of less than 120 mm Hg Systolic reading). The results showed that among the participants receiving intensive treatment the risk of death was lowered by about 25% and their risk of heart attack, heart failure, and other cardiovascular events decreased by about 30% when compared to the participants in the standard treatment.
This study provides potentially lifesaving information that can be useful to health care providers as they consider the best treatment for their patients with high blood pressure, particularly those patients over the age of 50. The results from the study provide important evidence that treating blood pressure to a lower goal in older or high-risk patients can be beneficial and yield better health results overall, but patients should talk to their doctor first to determine whether this lower goal is best for their individual care.
Even if your blood pressure is normal, you should consider making lifestyle modifications to prevent the development of high blood pressure and improve your heart health.
For more information on an integrative holistic approach to the treatment of hypertension, visit us on line at DrCynthia.com or call our office at 818-842-1410.
References:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Landmark NIH study shows intensive blood pressure management may save lives”
