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On High BP Medicine. I Am Overweight. Suggest Diet Plans
Question: Hi
I am 33 years old and I am on a HIgh BP medication but my BP now is fairly normal. I now want to get off the medication. I am a bit overwight and I am doing weight training and cardio 5 days a week for about 35-40 minutes and generally keep myself active.
I was reading somewhere about the positive effects of regimented fasting?.Is it ok to undergo an 8 day juice only fasting. By juice I mean fresh vegetable juice(carrot beet celery parsley and cucumber). If yes how long would the affect last? I really want to get off the medication.
Thansk for your advice
XXXXXX
I am 33 years old and I am on a HIgh BP medication but my BP now is fairly normal. I now want to get off the medication. I am a bit overwight and I am doing weight training and cardio 5 days a week for about 35-40 minutes and generally keep myself active.
I was reading somewhere about the positive effects of regimented fasting?.Is it ok to undergo an 8 day juice only fasting. By juice I mean fresh vegetable juice(carrot beet celery parsley and cucumber). If yes how long would the affect last? I really want to get off the medication.
Thansk for your advice
XXXXXX
Hello XXXXXX
Thanks for writing in.
I am a qualified and certified cardiologist. I read your mail with diligence
It is good idea to get rid of medicine however, your blood pressure ought to stay within normal limits. Blood Pressure, is called silent killere, because usually it does not produce any symptoms and yet causes what we call target organ damage that is damage to brain (in form of cerebrovascular accident or stroke) Kidney (in form of chronic bilateral kidney failure) and heart (in form of coronary artery disease). Therefore, the aim of no drugs (or non pharmacological treatment) for blood pressure is that:
1. Most of the time on recording it should be around 120 mm Hg Systolic & 80 mm
diastolic.
2. It should never cross 140/90 mm Hg
3. It should not produce target organ damage.
You can write in supplementary query how much you weigh (and what is your height) because weight loss and exercise is associated with the control of blood pressure. We can discuss further about that and take up fasting also which is not advisable. Looking forward to hear from you.
With Best Wishes.
Dr Anil Grover
Cardiologist
MBBS,MD(Medicine) DM (Cardiology)
Thanks for writing in.
I am a qualified and certified cardiologist. I read your mail with diligence
It is good idea to get rid of medicine however, your blood pressure ought to stay within normal limits. Blood Pressure, is called silent killere, because usually it does not produce any symptoms and yet causes what we call target organ damage that is damage to brain (in form of cerebrovascular accident or stroke) Kidney (in form of chronic bilateral kidney failure) and heart (in form of coronary artery disease). Therefore, the aim of no drugs (or non pharmacological treatment) for blood pressure is that:
1. Most of the time on recording it should be around 120 mm Hg Systolic & 80 mm
diastolic.
2. It should never cross 140/90 mm Hg
3. It should not produce target organ damage.
You can write in supplementary query how much you weigh (and what is your height) because weight loss and exercise is associated with the control of blood pressure. We can discuss further about that and take up fasting also which is not advisable. Looking forward to hear from you.
With Best Wishes.
Dr Anil Grover
Cardiologist
MBBS,MD(Medicine) DM (Cardiology)
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Hello Sir
I am 98 Kgs and 6feet tall. I have drastically changed my lifestyle in the past 1 year when I was diagnosed with HBP. The minimum I recorded was 106 62 and the XXXXXXX was 120 76 while n coveram. I was reading the benefits of fasting and thought if this is something I could do to do away with the drug. My aim as I said earlier is to get off the HBP drug forever and I am and will do anything in my powers to achieve that. My Gp has advised me to reduce my weight by 10Kgs and then he can experimentally take me off the drug. Now I am a big man and shedding 10kgs would take me some time even though I am undertaking weight training and Cardio in sync.
Thanks!
I am 98 Kgs and 6feet tall. I have drastically changed my lifestyle in the past 1 year when I was diagnosed with HBP. The minimum I recorded was 106 62 and the XXXXXXX was 120 76 while n coveram. I was reading the benefits of fasting and thought if this is something I could do to do away with the drug. My aim as I said earlier is to get off the HBP drug forever and I am and will do anything in my powers to achieve that. My Gp has advised me to reduce my weight by 10Kgs and then he can experimentally take me off the drug. Now I am a big man and shedding 10kgs would take me some time even though I am undertaking weight training and Cardio in sync.
Thanks!
Hi XXXXXX
Thanks for responding quickly.
Your body mass index by the following formula for BMI is: 29.7 that is overweight (ideally it should be less than 25. Your GP is right that by loosing about 10 KG you will reach the aim and a trial of discontinuing drug can be given) Formula for BMI:
Weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (weight (kg) / [height (m)2]).
There are few points you have to remember:
Blood Pressure is only one of the risk factor for Coronary Artery Disease others are given below. For weight loss you have to give attention to diet and isotonic exercise (brisk walking running) rather than isometric (against resistance like weight lifting for example). This should be accompanied by progressive muscle relaxation - yogic exercises as detailed below. Instead of fasting reduce total caloric intake per day some suggestions are given below, for it has been seen that in the long run fasting induces hunger pangs leads to overeating in next meal and ultimately a yo yo (the toy which goes up and down) effect that is highly fluctuating weight which is not good in the long run.
Undoubtedly your job and home situation are conducive to stress. It is not stress (which is universal) it is how we react to it what matters. You have to meticulously record BP readings and in my opinion you have to ask your doctor to:
a). Rule out any primary cause of this Hypertension by physical examination &
tests.
b). Prescribe a medicine as BP medicines are prescription medicine. and lastly
c). Follow you up. Including filling in the unfilled information about risk factors for coronary artery disease. Thirty three is just the right age to start acting on prevention so that you do not have heart disease later in life. So let us start with risk factors.
At any age, following is the list of risk factors for future development of Coronary Artery Disease. Let me enumerate and you can place yourself the risk you are carrying ('*' means you have the risk factor, '+/-' means I do not know and about others you know better):-
A: MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS
Diabetes +/-
Hypertension*
Smoking+/-
Stress*
Obesity and Sedentary Life Style+/-
High Bad Cholesterol and Lipid Component +/-
Total Cholesterol above 190 mg%, LDL above 130 mg%, VLDL above 40 mg%,
Triglycerides above 150 mg%, Apolipoprotein B above reference value
Low Good Cholesterol and Lipid Component: +/-
Apolipoprotein a below reference range for the lab and
HDL below 40 mg% for man & and 50 mg% for woman
B: NON MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS
Family History 0f Coronary Heart Disease +/-
Increasing age*
Being a Man (as opposed to women) till the age 45*
From the list, above you have some risk factors. Hypertension, Stress, being a man and increasing age has been identified. Therefore, I will strongly recommend consulting your doctor; he may complete the list as well do the EKG / TMT to find out target organ damage due to hypertension.
It is never too late to change. With your weight everything you do will have to be under supervision. It need not be cardiologist but your primary doctor can guide your way back to health - I am happy to read that. You may need drugs and he/she (or ask the dietitian) to advise you about diet low in calories and cholesterol, advise you on quantum of exercise. You ought to keep your weight under control for you do not want other attack. If you like non vegetarian you cannot take red meat but there is no bar (in taking certainly quantity had to be less) on egg white, roasted chicken and roasted fish.
Exercise: Brisk walk at the speed of 5 KM/Hr for 40 minutes per day every day is enough aerobic exercise you need for keeping your heart healthy.
Now about stress. Please do this yogic exercise for ten minutes twice a day. will write about the progressive muscular relaxation which is used for non pharmacological treatment of blood pressure. This has opposite effect to heavy isometric exercise. Additionally, this is a great stress buster. It is called Savasana: corpse pose if literally translated.
No yoga session is complete without the final pose – Savasana. The body needs this time to understand the new information it has received through practicing yoga. Even though Savasana is a resting pose, it’s not the same a sleeping! You should stay present and aware during the five to ten minute duration of final relaxation.
Instructions:
1. Come to lie down on the back.
2. Let the feet fall out to either side.
3. Bring the arms alongside the body, but slightly separated from the body, and turn the palms to face upwards.
4. Relax the whole body, including the face. Let the body feel heavy.
5. Let the breath occur naturally.
6. To come out, first begin to the deepen the breath. Then move the fingers and toes, awakening the body.
7. Bring the knees into the chest and roll over to one side, keep the eyes closed.
8. Slowly bring yourself back up into a sitting position.
Here are some ideas on ways to use props during savasana to make this pose more comfortable and relaxing.
If there is any further query I will be most happy to answer asap. It is a pleasure interacting with you.
With Best Wishes.
Dr Anil Grover,
Cardiologist
M.B.;B.S, M.D. (Internal Medicine) D.M.(Cardiology)
http://www/ WWW.WWWW.WW
Thanks for responding quickly.
Your body mass index by the following formula for BMI is: 29.7 that is overweight (ideally it should be less than 25. Your GP is right that by loosing about 10 KG you will reach the aim and a trial of discontinuing drug can be given) Formula for BMI:
Weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (weight (kg) / [height (m)2]).
There are few points you have to remember:
Blood Pressure is only one of the risk factor for Coronary Artery Disease others are given below. For weight loss you have to give attention to diet and isotonic exercise (brisk walking running) rather than isometric (against resistance like weight lifting for example). This should be accompanied by progressive muscle relaxation - yogic exercises as detailed below. Instead of fasting reduce total caloric intake per day some suggestions are given below, for it has been seen that in the long run fasting induces hunger pangs leads to overeating in next meal and ultimately a yo yo (the toy which goes up and down) effect that is highly fluctuating weight which is not good in the long run.
Undoubtedly your job and home situation are conducive to stress. It is not stress (which is universal) it is how we react to it what matters. You have to meticulously record BP readings and in my opinion you have to ask your doctor to:
a). Rule out any primary cause of this Hypertension by physical examination &
tests.
b). Prescribe a medicine as BP medicines are prescription medicine. and lastly
c). Follow you up. Including filling in the unfilled information about risk factors for coronary artery disease. Thirty three is just the right age to start acting on prevention so that you do not have heart disease later in life. So let us start with risk factors.
At any age, following is the list of risk factors for future development of Coronary Artery Disease. Let me enumerate and you can place yourself the risk you are carrying ('*' means you have the risk factor, '+/-' means I do not know and about others you know better):-
A: MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS
Diabetes +/-
Hypertension*
Smoking+/-
Stress*
Obesity and Sedentary Life Style+/-
High Bad Cholesterol and Lipid Component +/-
Total Cholesterol above 190 mg%, LDL above 130 mg%, VLDL above 40 mg%,
Triglycerides above 150 mg%, Apolipoprotein B above reference value
Low Good Cholesterol and Lipid Component: +/-
Apolipoprotein a below reference range for the lab and
HDL below 40 mg% for man & and 50 mg% for woman
B: NON MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS
Family History 0f Coronary Heart Disease +/-
Increasing age*
Being a Man (as opposed to women) till the age 45*
From the list, above you have some risk factors. Hypertension, Stress, being a man and increasing age has been identified. Therefore, I will strongly recommend consulting your doctor; he may complete the list as well do the EKG / TMT to find out target organ damage due to hypertension.
It is never too late to change. With your weight everything you do will have to be under supervision. It need not be cardiologist but your primary doctor can guide your way back to health - I am happy to read that. You may need drugs and he/she (or ask the dietitian) to advise you about diet low in calories and cholesterol, advise you on quantum of exercise. You ought to keep your weight under control for you do not want other attack. If you like non vegetarian you cannot take red meat but there is no bar (in taking certainly quantity had to be less) on egg white, roasted chicken and roasted fish.
Exercise: Brisk walk at the speed of 5 KM/Hr for 40 minutes per day every day is enough aerobic exercise you need for keeping your heart healthy.
Now about stress. Please do this yogic exercise for ten minutes twice a day. will write about the progressive muscular relaxation which is used for non pharmacological treatment of blood pressure. This has opposite effect to heavy isometric exercise. Additionally, this is a great stress buster. It is called Savasana: corpse pose if literally translated.
No yoga session is complete without the final pose – Savasana. The body needs this time to understand the new information it has received through practicing yoga. Even though Savasana is a resting pose, it’s not the same a sleeping! You should stay present and aware during the five to ten minute duration of final relaxation.
Instructions:
1. Come to lie down on the back.
2. Let the feet fall out to either side.
3. Bring the arms alongside the body, but slightly separated from the body, and turn the palms to face upwards.
4. Relax the whole body, including the face. Let the body feel heavy.
5. Let the breath occur naturally.
6. To come out, first begin to the deepen the breath. Then move the fingers and toes, awakening the body.
7. Bring the knees into the chest and roll over to one side, keep the eyes closed.
8. Slowly bring yourself back up into a sitting position.
Here are some ideas on ways to use props during savasana to make this pose more comfortable and relaxing.
If there is any further query I will be most happy to answer asap. It is a pleasure interacting with you.
With Best Wishes.
Dr Anil Grover,
Cardiologist
M.B.;B.S, M.D. (Internal Medicine) D.M.(Cardiology)
http://www/ WWW.WWWW.WW
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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