Dear Lou, now that you have a slightly different lifestyle and have reduced caffeine and maybe even changed your diet and salt intake, it may be okay to consider a wait and see approach off meds.
Dear doc,
I`m not asking you to stop the meds. I`m asking from your point of view as a cardio if the pvc`s subside, are you still getting them. I got carried away with the question, Trying to give you a little background info,although I am bewildered that I am on these meds before the cardio even gave me chance to lower bp on my own.My father had 4-bypass surgery in june from a mild heart attack and I got palpitations in august.Looking back at the ordeal,my heart would be pounding at night, nothing more.I personally think him having the attack caused anxiety which caused the palps, then my pressure went up from palps{thinking the worst}, pressure stayed up due to side effects.With 20mg/day of propranolol, many pvc`s at the time,and med side effects, blood pressure clinic readings were 130/90 sitting, 120/90standing,.With all that stress,my readings were borderline with 20mg/day of propranolol control.Blood pressure doc says she would have waited 6months before she put me on any thing to clean up my life style. Did I mention that I was also drinking about 5,6 bottles of coke a day during the summer also.It was hot in N.J.and I work outside and I was drinking them down.Nevertheless, I have discontinued that, for I will never know if the caffiene was doing that or not.I drink 7 up now. My only other qustion is what if my pressure is back to normal.Before this ordeal, in feb,I had a cold and went to doc and my bp was only 130/80.I have documented bp from 97 to august 99,[8/97,130/76,1/99,120/80;2/99,130/80;]. I am a non smoker,44m 190wght,6ft. my question is what if I drop back down to 80. Is propranolol[20mg/day] controlling that or am I returning to my original bp. You may see how I am bewildered, cardio wants meds for border bp, bp doc says that we jump the gun,should have waited to see if i returned after stress and caffiene reduction.I`m sorry about this long wind explanation ,It`s just that I am torn between 2 doc`s and I don`t really know who is right. The cardio who threw me on the meds quickly or the hypertensive doc that said she would have wait and see approach. Incidently my test were all negative,except that the echo showed a thickened mitral valve.I asked the doc if that was mvp ,he says ever so slight,He`s very vague. Well doc, that what I had to say. If you have any answers to my dilema I am all ears.
Thanks greatly, Lou.F.
I think there are many cases of inceased BP and PVC's which are borderline for treatment. Different docs seem to have different ideas. Just now I'm taking atenolol of elevated and unstable BP. The doc i see now is conviced i need it ... all the docs in the past didn't. However, my current doc has done alot of urine analysis. The results: two elevated VMA tests, high dopamine and noradrenaline levels, high n/met and met. First they thought this was suggestive of a pheo ... but CT showed nothing ... so now i'm faced with a life time of hypertensive meds from age 26 ... something seems wrong? Is is possible for a young man who was previously fit, not overweight, no smoking or drinking to have essential hypertension? any ideas?
Dear Lou F.
These are all very important questions however in this forum i cannot tell you whether or not to change medications. this should be adressed with your physician. there are many reasons that people are placed on beta blockers and you need to discuss with your physician their rationale for this drug and the benefits of continuing its use.