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TLDR: Doctors need to check blood pressure while the patient is laying down. I do wonder about recent changes that suggest anything beyond 120 / 80 is above 'n
by wing-_-nuts 3y ago
TLDR: Doctors need to check blood pressure while the patient is laying down.
I do wonder about recent changes that suggest anything beyond 120 / 80 is above 'normal'. You would think that something like blood pressure would be highly regulated in the body but it varies throughout the day, month and year.
They also say that salt is seriously bad for high blood pressure but I find little effect for myself personally. I do wonder how much sensitivity varies from person to person.
- lawlessone 3y agoI think if you get a decent amount of water and potassium your body is able to more easily expel the excess sodium
- vitorgrs 3y agoI have hypertension and take my med everyday... If you drink watermelon juice, it makes wonder to incredible lower it.
- Aurornis 3y ago> They also say that salt is seriously bad for high blood pressure but I find little effect for myself personally. I do wonder how much sensitivity varies from person to person. You’d be shocked at how much salt some people consume. A little bit with your vegetables or steak isn’t going to move the needle, but some processed foods have unbelievable amounts of sodium relative to how they taste. Salt definitely impacts blood pressure. Salt supplements are used with good effect in certain conditions of low blood pressure/volume.
- btilly 3y agoMost would be shocked at how much salt they consume. That healthy prepackaged salad option at the grocery store? Often has more salt than a burger!
- wing-_-nuts 3y agoI mean, I make my salads to be both nutritious AND tasty, and yeah, salt's an important part of that. I'm not eating just raw veggies with a light sprinkle of balsamic
- btilly 3y agoAnd if I ate like you do, I'd wind up in the hospital. Again. We've discovered that humans respond really well to a particular mixture of sugar, fat and salt. Basically every prepared food has about the same mix of those three. That mix is lethal for me. In the case of salads they do that by using the veggies as a salad dressing delivery mechanism. If I can't add the oil and vinegar myself, I can't eat the salad.
- croes 3y agoAccording to this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37355083 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37355083 Sodium isn't the problem
- pdonis 3y agoI think a better take would be: sodium isn't the only possible problem.
- black6 3y agoSalt is water soluble and your body peepees and sweats out what it doesn't need. Most people don't consume too much sodium; they consume too little water and don't get enough exercise.
- atahanacar 3y ago>Salt is water soluble Yeah, and that's what makes salt increase your bp. More salt in blood = more water retention = more volume = higher bp.
- zingababba 3y agoSalt absolutely does not matter for me. I eat a ridiculous amount of salt. Caffeine on the other hand == day long 10-20 point increase in my systolic BP regardless of if I'm using chronically or not. Ultimately one of the primary reasons I quit caffeine.
- Try1275 3y agoDo you drink decaf?
- zingababba 3y agoI don't :)
- UncleOxidant 3y ago> but it varies throughout the day, month and year. yep. I've taken my BP laying down and it's generally lower than when I'm sitting up, but then again, I usually do that after going to bed, blood pressure is generally going to be lower at night so maybe I'm just noticing that difference vs during the day.
- btilly 3y agoSensitivity varies by a lot. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/04/26/salt-sensitivity-may-increase-risk-of-high-blood-pressure https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/04/26/salt-sensitivity-ma... I'm at the extreme end of sensitivity. If I want my blood pressure medications to work, I need to eat something like half the recommended daily allowance of salt. Let's just say, eating out is a challenge.
- squeaky-clean 3y agoIt's so hard to find good store-bought snacks that are low sodium too. Even if there is a low-sodium version, the flavors are just "lightly salted" or "hint of salt". That's not a flavor...
- btilly 3y agoThe phrase to look for is "no salt added." I either prepare my snacks, or just have fresh fruits and vegetables.
- squeaky-clean 3y agoYeah that's what I do, but I'd love to be able to buy some low sodium spicy chips or something.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoAFAICT and INAMD, but it's generally accepted that potassium is good for your heart. Sodium may or may not be bad for the heart by itself, but it also limits potassium absorption. So the differences in sodium sensitivity between individuals might be more about potassium than sodium.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- SirMaster 3y agoTechnically 80 diastolic is considered hypertension stage 1 under the current guidelines. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/u... The highest you can be and be considered "normal" is 119/79. Elevated is 120-129/<80 Stage 1 hypertension is 130-139/80-89 Stage 2 hypertension is 140+/90+
- noman-land 3y agoDid you mean to say stage 2 in your last line?
- themagician 3y ago*in the US.
- SirMaster 3y agoWhat is it elsewhere? And why is it different? Are the studies that shaped the recommendations in the US no good?
- themagician 3y agoAlmost everywhere else in the world high BP is anything above 140/90. Doctors generally won't recommend medication until you are consistently over that. In the US they continue to revise numbers down to prescribe more medication and every doctor just kind of gets in line with this. Rarely do US doctors even attempt to find the cause of elevated BP, they just recommend medication immediately. BP medication is typically a lifelong thing. It's so effective that once you start it becomes difficult to get off of it safely. You kind of "grow with" the medication and risk a heart attack if you stop. In the US it's all about money. The goal was to revise numbers down low enough so that almost all of the population over 30 qualifies as needing medication. The earlier you can get someone on BP meds the longer the average lifetime revenue. The target is 35+ years. It's basically a monthly recurring subscription to live.
- hwillis 3y ago> You would think that something like blood pressure would be highly regulated in the body Counterpoint: a 6' (1.83 m) tall column of blood has a pressure of 142 mmHg at the bottom- higher than your normal blood pressure. When you change posture from prone to sitting to standing, your blood pressure is basically swinging 100%. Hell, the diastolic blood pressure at your feet is almost double what your arms are at. Plus, the oxygen consumption of various body parts is hugely variable. More oxygen requires more blood and more blood requires more pressure. With that kind of variance all over your body it's not a shock that it's also generally pretty variable.
- nradov 3y agoThe issue with salt and blood pressure is not so much the quantity but rather the osmolality. You can mitigate the effects by drinking more water. https://peterattiamd.com/rickjohnson2/ https://peterattiamd.com/rickjohnson2/