One of the worst reviews an MD can get is "poor bedside manners", "being coldhearted", and "not caring about their patient" and you want to put them behind plexiglass
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Billing/ front desk staff. Not Doctors. Docs need to be in person.
Hypertension is typically viewed as a symptom of or a precursor to obesity. Same with a lot of other "disease states". Often times it's chicken:egg scenario.
I alluded to it earlier, but this is medicine, there are no absolutes. The definition of hypertension can change. Today it is viewed as a blood pressure of 130/80. It used to be 140/90, so why the change? It increases the amount of people diagnosed but doesn't actually change anything since you don't go on medication until Stage 1... Oh it's because people don't change their lifestyles.
The change in blood pressure numbers is solely because people do not change their behaviors. Drs have been messaging every patient between 130/80 to 140/90 (about 14% of the population) forever that they have pre-hypertension and nothing changes.
I bet in a venn diagram there would be significant overlap between those hospitalized with covid, those with hypertension, and those that had grocery stores that sold fresh fruit and vegetables greater than 1-2 miles from their home. Food deserts exist, right here in good ol' CA too. Adam just posted how excited he was that a grocery store finally opened in BVHP... and then posted how disappointed he was that the majority of food available was prepared.
We agree on much here. On quick glance, yes: Americans by an large lack a commitment, much less an actual caring, about their personal health until it's too late. In fact, there's an overarching offense when unhealthy habits or lifestyle choices are discussed. A wall of denial. That's probably the first wall to climb over.
The article that hypertension drives negative outcomes is no surprise. Nor is it that a near majority of Americans (and world pops) suffer from HT. Ok. so we've got a problem and we've identified the problem. What's the plan going forward?
I'd expect using our government school systems to focus on health outcomes for post graduates and I (kinda) hoped for using our latest pandemic for health education and encouragement, not arguments about vaccine bad/good and mandates of masking, all the while driving the population into worse health choices. We've made bad decisions as individuals and a society, IMO. The recompense is a deep dive review and recommendations to our people about what worked and what did not work as well as, what work is left to do.
In regards to HT solely: while there's a correlation between it and many debilitating and potentially mortal outcomes, we haven't been able to convince the general public to pay attention to it. Sure, swallow a Lipitor and continue on, but overall, "Sicko" was a documentary. American life has gotten sedentary enough that we need actual facilities to "work out" at for our own health benefits. We haven't adjusted, we've simply prescribed and move on. In totality, this was the pathway to the pandemic. Now that we've learned much about Covid-19, we know what we've always known: personal health and family genetics will determine one's outcome for their age group.
Pre-existing conditions being one of the largest factors.
The concept of reducing the effect of those pre existing conditions is with a minority of the population. We should be looking to change that with a charge from leadership. We've all got some affliction that screws us up in one way or another...your late 30's/ early 40's is about where it's a make-it or break-it for lifestyle choices. That's the target to hit head on with marketing and messaging, IMO. Tax breaks for athletic memberships and gear? Sure, why not? Currently, companies are not allowed to write off "wellness" programs or equipment that is outside the traditional medical sphere. This excludes fitness and exercise. Mental fitness? Massive. Massive in depression and thus, the spiral downward in mental and physical results.
....aaaaannnnd, I'm off the reservation at this point. My bad for dragging on.
Matt, I don’t know whether health and lifestyle has that much effect of blood pressure. Mine is quite high; not uncommon for me to be in hypertensive crisis range. I’m in decent shape but am heavier than ideal. Have been brining eight down and am halfway to my goal. Our diet is very low in sodium. None of these thing seem to move the needle. My Dr says a lot of her patients’ numbers drop after they retire. Not quite in the cards yet.
Tried meds but the effect was minimal and side effects were worse than the condition. Won’t even consider meds until I lean out and see if there is any change.
My BP has been high since I started paying attention in my 30’s. At the time, I was very lean and very fit.
I've always known high BP to be a combo of genes and choices....but more genes. Certainly external stressors are a large factor, but you're diametric to the majority of Americans doing very little to care for their health aside from pills and treatments. Good to read you're doing things with meds as a last resort. I'm in the same boat regarding asthma. I can make it work with diet changes, regular intense exercise and sleep. And I suck at sleep. Horrible, there.
Keep at it Andy. I won't say that a healthy lifestyle is a panacea for all potential afflictions, but I do believe it's got the best % to affect a higher quality life. People don't like this message many times, but they shouldn't be castigated for such the dislike, but brought into the fold of an active lifestyle...which tends to lead to healthier choices all around. Won't matter much for me...I'm sure I'm gonna die from something I catch from detailing supplies or inhaling race gas...
