I've been diagnosed with mild hypertension and borderline diabetes, both a few years back. I've been on Metformin for about two years and my HGA1C is down to 5.7. After being on Micardis 40 mg for several years and having my pressure back in the normal range, a doctor (not my regular doc) suggested I try doing without it for 6 months. My pressure used to be about 140 over 90 w/o meds, but I think from having started swimming regularly some 14 months ago, I have brought it down to an average (resting) rate of about 135/73 (with a resting pulse in the 65-74 range). I went back to my regular doc and he wants me to go back on the BP meds, because he believes in an "aggressive" approach and says it is still too high. He also says that Micardis will help protect my kidneys.
I am wondering two things...
1) Should I always and everywhere listen to the doc...or get a second opinion. What will the meds do to my swimming times? Positive or negative effect...or does it differ from person to person? Anyone with any experience with this?
2) If my bottom number is already as low as 73, I am wondering how safe it is for it to possibly go down another ten points.
BTW...I am 55.
Tom, I am semi-self-diagnosed with ISH, or isolated systolic hypertension. My upper number, in other words, is high-ish (140 plus on various occasions), but my lower one is usually in the 70s. My resting heart rate is in the low 40s, occasionally high 30s. My family doctor, who I go to every 6-7 years, told me not to worry about it and to quit testing myself on those drug store bp machines. I have taken his advice and basically done my best not to worry about it. What say ye? BTW, my friend/teammate switched from old beta blockers to these new, much more selective ones, and he's found they control his BP quite well without the drastic limiting of his heart rate of the older pills. In practice, he used to be unable to get his heart rate up to 120; on the new med, he is up to 140 and feels he can work a lot harder. The med he takes is Bystolic (nebivolol), which is a cardioselectivebeta blocker. What this means, essentially, is that it dilates your peripheralblood vessels to lower blood pressure (which you want!) but it does NOT limityour heart rate the way older generation beta blockers do.
Tom, I am semi-self-diagnosed with ISH, or isolated systolic hypertension. My upper number, in other words, is high-ish (140 plus on various occasions), but my lower one is usually in the 70s. My resting heart rate is in the low 40s, occasionally high 30s. My family doctor, who I go to every 6-7 years, told me not to worry about it and to quit testing myself on those drug store bp machines. I have taken his advice and basically done my best not to worry about it. What say ye? BTW, my friend/teammate switched from old beta blockers to these new, much more selective ones, and he's found they control his BP quite well without the drastic limiting of his heart rate of the older pills. In practice, he used to be unable to get his heart rate up to 120; on the new med, he is up to 140 and feels he can work a lot harder. The med he takes is Bystolic (nebivolol), which is a cardioselectivebeta blocker. What this means, essentially, is that it dilates your peripheralblood vessels to lower blood pressure (which you want!) but it does NOT limityour heart rate the way older generation beta blockers do.
