Combating High Blood Pressure

NEARLY HALF OF ALL AMERICAN ADULTS ARE LIVING WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. AND ACCORDING TO THE CDC, ONLY 22% OF THOSE AFFECTED HAVE THEIR CONDITION PROPERLY UNDER CONTROL. HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, ALSO KNOWN AS HYPERTENSION, PUTS A PERSON AT A HIGHER RISK OF HEART DISEASE AND STROKE AS WGCUS TEDDY BYRNE LEARNED THERE ARE MULTIPLE LIFE CHANGES. PEOPLE CAN MAKE TO LOWER THEIR RISK OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. >> SO JOINING ME NOW TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE RISKS OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IS DOCTOR PILE COLEY GENERAL IN PREVENTATIVE CARDIOLOGIST IN DENVER, COLORADO, AND ASSOCIATE ADJUNCT PROFESSOR WITH JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY AND DUKE UNIVERSITY DR. CALLIE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. >> HYPERTENSION, OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IMPACTING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS. BUT SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR? >> YOU KNOW, HYPERTENSION, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, ONE OF THE MOST COMMON THINGS THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO AMERICANS. IN FACT, YOUR CHANCE OF DEVELOPING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IN YOUR LIFETIME IS 80 TO 90%. AND THERE'S 120 MILLION AMERICANS WALKING AROUND WITH THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE, ELEVATED AND NEARLY HALF OF THEM ARE NOT CONTROLLED. DESPITE TAKING THE MEDICINES THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE IN, YOU KNOW, HYPERTENSION IS CALLED THE SILENT KILLER FOR REASON. AND THAT'S BECAUSE OFTEN EARLY IN THE DISEASE, THERE'S NO SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS AND IT'S REALLY ONLY WHEN THE BLOOD PRESSURE GETS VERY, VERY HIGH THAT YOU CAN ADD DIZZINESS, HEADACHES, BLURRY VISION IS EVEN HEART ATTACKS AND STROKES. BUT EARLY IN THE DISEASE, THE WAY THAT WE DIAGNOSE IT IS BY CHECKING. SO I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY LISTENING HERE EMPOWERS THEM SELVES TO KNOW THEIR NUMBERS AND KNOW THEIR RISK IN WHETHER YOU HAVE A DIAGNOSIS OF HYPERTENSION OR DON'T IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE CHANCE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DEVELOP HYPERTENSION, AS YOU GET OLDER IS SO HIGH. >> AND THEN ARE THERE CERTAIN PEOPLE THAT ARE PRE TO PUT THIS POST A HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR IS THIS A RISK OF DEVELOPING FOR REALLY ANYBODY? >> YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY MOST ANYBODY CAN GET HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND THAT'S WHERE THE 80 TO 90% LIFETIME RISK COMES FROM. AND PART OF THAT, OF COURSE, IS OUR MODERN DIET BECAUSE 90% OF AMERICANS CAN STILL WAY TOO MUCH SODIUM IN THE AVERAGE AMERICAN DIET THAT WE'RE HAVING. BUT PART OF IT IS ALSO AS WE TEND TO AGE OR BLOOD VESSELS TEND TO GET STIFFER. THERE ARE CERTAIN CONDITIONS THAT CAN INCREASE YOUR RISK OF DEVELOPING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HYPERTENSION. CERTAINLY IF YOU'RE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE, IF YOU HAVE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, IF YOU HAVE DIABETES, IF YOU HAVE HEART FAILURE, IF YOU HAVE A CONDITION CALLED SLEEP APNEA, OUR ONE CALLED A TOOL FOR RELATION. THESE ARE ALL TARGETS SIGNS THAT GET PUT ON YOU TO DEVELOP HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, BUT IT CAN HAPPEN TO JUST THE EVERYDAY AMERICAN. IT CAN HAPPEN TO THE THE THE YOUNG, THE FIT, THE HEALTHY AMERICAN. AND I OFTEN TELL MY FEMALE PATIENTS AFTER MENOPAUSE, THERE'S A HUGE TRANSITION THAT HAPPENS IN OUR LIFE AND OUR HEALTH AND THE ESTROGEN LEVELS GO DOWN, WHICH CAN CAUSE BLOOD VESSELS NOT ONLY TO GET STIFFER, BUT IT CAN ALSO CAUSE AND A HORMONE CALLED AL DOSTER OWN TO GO UP. AND THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY PLAYERS AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. SO REALLY IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE, WHICH IS WHY ONE, EVERY SINGLE PERSON TO KNOW THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE. >> AND THEN IF IT DOES GO UNTREATED, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LONG-TERM RISKS THAT PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH? >> YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF. IS THAT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE CAN AFFECT ANY ORGAN IN THE BODY BECAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, EVERY SINGLE ORGAN IN THE BODY HAS A BLOOD VESSEL, RIGHT? AND SO THE PRESSURE INSIDE THOSE BLOOD VESSELS IS VERY HIGH. YOU CAN REALLY DAMAGE THOSE ORGANS. AND SO CERTAINLY WE TALK ABOUT RISK LIKE CARDIOVASCULAR DEATH, HEART ATTACKS, STROKES AND HEART FAILURE. BUT YOU CAN ALSO GET KIDNEY DAMAGE OR KIDNEY DISEASE. YOU CAN GET DEMENTIA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST FEARS THAT WE ALL HAVE AS WE AGE. AND OF COURSE, YOU CAN EVEN DEVELOP CONDITIONS LIKE BLINDNESS, WHICH IS AGAIN, ONE OF THE WORST THINGS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY HAPPEN TO ANY OF THE FACT THAT IT'S PREVENTABLE IN MODIFIABLE AND THAT IT HAS SUCH SEVERE OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH IT REALLY MAKES ME FEEL LIKE EVERY AMERICAN TO TAKE CONTROL. >> AND NOW THERE ARE MANY MEDICATIONS ON THE MARKET THAT SAY THEY HELP WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR HYPERTENSION, BUT A LOT OF TIMES THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CANNOT TAKE MEDICATIONS FOR OTHER REASONS. MAYBE THEY INTERACT WITH OTHER PRESCRIPTIONS. THEY'RE ON. SO WHAT CAN FOLKS DO THAT ARE STEPS TO HELP WITH THEIR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. WHEN MAYBE MEDICATIONS ARE NOT THE ANSWER FOR THEM OR MAY NOT WORK WITH THEM. >> SO I WOULD SAY THAT YOU DON'T WALK AWAY FROM MEDICATIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT CLASSES OF MEDICATIONS THAT CERTAINLY IT'S IMPORTANT TO ADOPT THE RIGHT DIET, THE RIGHT LIFESTYLE. SO, YOU KNOW, REDUCING THE SODIUM, INCREASING THE POTASSIUM. IF YOU DON'T HAVE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, EXERCISING GETTING 5 DAYS OF ACTIVITY, AT LEAST 30 MINUTES A DAY, GETTING THOSE 7 TO 9 HOURS OF SLEEP, TREATING SLEEP APNEA. IF YOU HAVE IT, THESE ARE ALL GREAT PREVENTIVE MEASURES AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES THAT YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE. LOSING WEIGHT ALWAYS HELPS WITH REDUCING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IF YOU'RE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE. BUT DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON THE MEDICATIONS BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE LIFESTYLE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH TO GET THAT BLOOD PRESSURE DOWN. AND IT'LL PRODUCE YOUR SYSTOLIC. YOU'RE TALK NUMBER BY A FEW POINTS, BUT YOU MAY NEED A 2030, POINT REDUCTION TO GET YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO GET TO. AND IN FACT, THE NEW AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, BLOOD PRESSURE GUIDELINES SAY THAT WE REALLY SHOULD BE TARGETING BLOOD. PRESSURE IS LESS THAN ONE 20 OVER 80 FOR EVERYONE TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING DEMENTIA TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING HEART DISEASE. SO IT'S SAFE. YOU CAN'T TAKE SOME OF THE OLDER MEDICINES. AND ONE OF MY CHALLENGES AS A CARDIOLOGIST, US THE MEDICINES THAT I'M USING TO TREAT BLOOD PRESSURE OLD. THERE. ONE OF THEM IS 68 YEARS OLD. YOU KNOW? AND SO SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T WORK OR A CAUSE OF SIDE EFFECTS. AS YOU POINTED OUT, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE ONES THAT CAUSE HORMONAL SIDE EFFECTS. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT ALTERNATIVE MEDICATIONS. AND THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THESE NEW MEDICATIONS THAT ARE NOW COMING ONTO THE MARKET THAT DON'T HAVE AS MANY SIDE EFFECTS COULD POTENTIALLY BE GAME CHANGERS FOR SOME OF THESE PATIENTS. >> DOCTOR COLEY, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK WITH US TODAY. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME AND BE SURE TO CHECK THAT BLOOD PRESSURE. >> YOU CAN STAY UP TO DATE WITH