Full Transcript Introduction: Blood Pressure Isnu2019t One-Size-Fits-All 0:00 Most older adults are told 120 over 80 is the number they should aim for. 0:05 And if it's higher, the recommendation is for medication or more medication. 0:11 But here's my answer. 0:12 There isn't one ideal number that's right for every adult. 0:17 Pushing blood pressure too low can lead to lightheadedness, dizziness, weakness, and even falls. 0:24 Lowering the numbers is not the same as addressing why it is elevated. 0:28 As a cardiologist, I've worked with cardiovascular patients for more than 20 years. 0:33 By the end of this video, you'll know whether your reading is accurate, whether it reflects a real pattern, what that pattern means for you, 0:41 and what to address before another medication is added. 0:45 We want to avoid the medications whenever possible. 0:51 Is the number accurate? 0:52 Is it a real pattern or a one isolated reading? 0:55 What does that pattern mean for you and what are you going to do and when are going you to look at this again?
How to Take an Accurate Reading 1:02 Alright, let's dive into it. 1:04 Question number one. 1:07 The first question is whether the number is accurate. 1:10 Why does that matter? 1:12 Because a blood pressure reading is only useful if you take it correctly. 1:17 If you don't, you can build an entire treatment plan around bad data. 1:22 So here's what you do. 1:23 You start with the setup. 1:26 Sit down. 1:26 Put the cuff on appropriately. 1:28 Ideally, you rest for five minutes. 1:30 No phone, no technology. 1:32 Let your arm rest at heart height. 1:34 Make sure the cuffs fits appropriately A cuff that's too small or too large can give you a number that doesn't represent what's really happening inside. 1:42 Check both arms when you're getting started and pay attention to the higher number. 1:48 The higher is the real number I suggest checking once or twice per day at different times. 1:54 Try first thing after waking, before or after breakfast, after your coffee, around lunch, at dinner, or before bed. 2:01 Use variable times, the more different you check, more complete the picture becomes. 2:06 Why is this the case? 2:07 Because blood pressure isn't frozen in place. 2:10 It changes with certainly stress, different foods, caffeine, medication, sleep, movement, pain, and whatever life is throwing at you that day. 2:20 Keep a diary, paper's fine, an app is fine. 2:24 Record the readings and share them with your doctor. 2:27 Before you react to the number, make sure you can trust the numbers. 2:31 Question 2. Is it a real pattern? 2:34 The second question is whether you're seeing a real pattern. 2:37 One high reading doesn't tell you what's happening all day long, every day. 2:42 one low reading does it either.
Finding the Real Blood Pressure Pattern 2:44 Why? 2:45 Because one reading is one moment. 2:48 It can't represent the other 23 plus hours of your day, white coat hypertension is real. 2:54 Let me tell about this woman Janet, her doctor wanted to put her on another blood pressure medication. 2:59 But Janet was nervous. 3:00 At home, her blood pressure was always normal or pretty close to normal. 3:05 And at the doctor's office, it was high. 3:07 She was worried that taking a pharmaceutical would make her pressure drop too low. 3:12 So she called us. 3:14 When we looked deeper, stress was a major part of the problem as it often is with white coat hypertensives. 3:20 And what we did is set up stress and mindset work to help her lower her number down naturally to avoid pharmaceuticals. 3:28 That's why you don't just react to the office number. 3:30 You look at the pattern. 3:31 And the Office can miss the opposite problem too. 3:34 The clinic in some cases can be calm and quiet and controlled. 3:38 But your life really isn't, actually. 3:40 It may be stressful at work, during our commute, family stress, chronic pain, maybe sleep issues, sleep apnea, for example, 3:49 different stimulants, nicotine, medication timing. 3:51 Your blood pressure may look fine in the office and rise later when the medication wears off. 3:56 It might rise at night when sleep, apnia, alcohol, disrupted sleep metabolic dysfunction or kidney problems prevent the normal nighttime decline. 4:06 Or it may surge in morning when cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrin, your sympathetic nervous system naturally rises to the occasion. 4:14 So your diary can show the pattern. 4:16 The pattern has to come before the target. 4:19 Question number three, what do those numbers mean for you? 4:21 The third question is what those number mean you. 4:24 This is where people want a chart that gives them one perfect blood pressure number based on age, but there isn't one real target blood. 4:33 Pressure. 4:33 All there is is overall health and wellness. 4:37 When health gets better, blood, pressure gets.
What the Numbers Mean for You 4:40 So look at the person, not the numbers. 4:42 What I tell people, are you frail? 4:44 Have you fallen before? 4:45 Do medications make you feel lightheaded or weaker? 4:48 Dizzy? 4:49 Is your blood? 4:50 Naturally low. 4:52 Do you have kidney issues, diabetes, a history of heart attack or stroke? 4:56 Now why do those questions matter? 4:58 Because the same reading can mean something different in two different people. 5:03 There is a real risk to running blood pressure too low with medications, especially in older folks. 5:10 This is very well documented and it's quite obvious. 5:13 We need to look at the whole person, we need look the symptoms, look a pattern. 5:17 and we need to find the root cause of why blood pressure is elevated. 5:22 Certainly one root-cause we have to look at is blood vessel dysfunction. 5:27 Your blood vessels need be able to relax and respond properly, and one of the key molecules involved in that process is something called nitric oxide. 5:38 Nitrogen and oxygen together in the body, similar to nitroglycerin. 5:42 As we get older, supporting nitric oxide becomes increasingly important. 5:46 Your body has two natural pathways for producing it, and there are things you can do to support those pathways yourself. 5:52 Start with the basics. 5:53 Get outside. 5:54 And get sunshine on your skin. 5:57 I'm outside right now, obviously. 5:59 Move your body every day. 6:00 That also improves things. 6:01 Also, eating nitrate-rich whole foods like beets and leafy greens. 6:06 Get your sleep right, reduce things like oxidative stress because oxidated stress can interfere with nitric oxide and make it harder for your blood vessels 6:14 to relax normally. 6:15 And if you want additional supplemental support, Optopressure is the supplement combination I've formulated specifically around supporting these pathways. 6:26 It combines heartbeat and vessel support to support both of your body's natural nitrous oxide pathways and healthy circulation. 6:34 The goal isn't simply to push a blood pressure number down. 6:37 It's to support the underlying vascular function that helps your blood vessels relax and respond properly in the first place. 6:46 But I want to be clear about where this fits. 6:49 Its not a replacement for measuring your pressure correctly. 6:53 It's certainly not a replacement for quality sleep, physical activity, keeping your stress levels low, and keeping an eye on your different blood pressure patterns. 7:03 It is one tool you can use alongside those fundamentals to support vascular function. 7:08 Supplements supplement the healthy lifestyle. 7:12 If you want to add this to your plan, you can find the link at the top of the description below. 7:17 And that brings us to question number four.
Supporting Vascular Health and Nitric Oxide 7:20 Whether you're working on vascular function, sleep, stress, movement, or something else, You still need to know what you are going to do next and you going 7:32 review whether or not it's actually working. 7:34 Question number 4. What are you doing next? 7:36 And when will you review it? 7:37 The fourth question is what are we going do to next. 7:40 and when you're going to review the plan. 7:42 The goal obviously should be improvement without medications. 7:46 That's for sure. 7:48 I never recommend pharmaceuticals, but don't stop or change a prescribed medication on your own. 7:54 Bring better information and better questions into the conversation with your clinician. 7:59 Before another medication is added, ask some questions. 8:02 Is the measurement technique right? 8:04 Is cuff the right size? 8:06 How am I sleeping? 8:07 Do I have sleep apnea? 8:08 Am I getting sunshine? 8:09 My getting daily body movement. 8:11 Is it an alcohol issue? 8:13 And what about other over-the-counter pharmaceuticals like non-steroidals, ibuprofen, decongestants, supplements? 8:19 Could there be medication interactions? 8:22 Too often the next move is another prescription, but the root cause still hasn't been investigated. 8:26 So build a clear plan with your clinician. 8:29 What are we gonna work on first? 8:31 What readings or symptoms should trigger a call? 8:34 When are going to review the diary and see what changed? 8:38 And don't wait if the numbers are extremely high.
Next Steps, Follow-Up, and When to Seek Help 8:41 A blood pressure above 200 needs urgent attention. 8:46 If you have severe symptoms or a reading that concerns you, certainly call your doctor or go to the emergency room. 8:53 But when it isn't an emergency, here's the reality. 8:57 The conventional system pushes medications. 9:00 Trials and guidelines push medications to support the objective of pharmaceutical companies, not patients. 9:07 Trial of lifestyle changes for blood pressure control aren't very common and they aren' t discussed enough with patients, 9:14 but they work. 9:16 Older adults are rarely included in trials studying the effects of sleep and sunshine and movement, and they're not really in the trials that look at side 9:24 effects in pharmaceuticals. 9:25 Remember, every single time, high blood pressure has a root cause. 9:29 Pharmaceuticals can lower the number down, but they don't address why the blood is elevated in first place, which is a major problem. 9:37 So here's my conclusion. 9:38 The best blood for an older adult is not a random number on a chart. 9:43 Start with an accurate reading, confirm the real pattern, keep diaries, look at the whole person, then build an action and follow-up plan. 9:51 Don't let a single number determine the rest of your health strategy.
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