Paul Sellers
Level 5 Valued Member
Does anyone else here suffer from hypertension and if so has the medication affected or limited your strength training in any way?
Old Forum Hypertension
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slot canyon
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Would depend on the medication as they have different mechanisms of action. Beta Blockers would blunt heart rate response. Some that directly dilate the blood vessels may make one more prone to postural hypotension. Clearly a topic to discuss with the prescriber and explain the activities in which you would like to participate to help select the most favorable alternative. Have you maximized non medical approaches for BP control?
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My medication (a combination of diuretics with names I care not to remember) can give me bouts of light headedness and dizziness if I overdo myself. So basically no to plyometric jumps and martial arts, yes to everything else so long as I take a pause as needed.
Basically, I won't be entering any sporting activities, but I can train at a slightly slower pace for most things.
My hypertension is tied to a hereditary health condition so non-medical alternatives have not had any effect. The meds I'm on are the mildest options in terms of side effects and coupled with the training is working well enough.
Basically, I won't be entering any sporting activities, but I can train at a slightly slower pace for most things.
My hypertension is tied to a hereditary health condition so non-medical alternatives have not had any effect. The meds I'm on are the mildest options in terms of side effects and coupled with the training is working well enough.
Paul Sellers
Level 5 Valued Member
Thank you Ian and Don for your replies. I have already exhausted the non-medical alternatives and I'm now very reluctantly accepting medical intervention. I wanted to be prepared when facing my physician to discuss the most suitable treatment. I would obviously prefer that any medication does not inhibit my kettlebell practice 8O) It should be an interesting conversation and I will update on the result. Thank you both once again.
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Well, medication can be a necessary, lesser evil. Going without can do more long term harm. You likely won't have to give up anything, just listen to how your body is handling the meds and slow down/adjust as needed.
Hopefully your doctor isn't a pill pusher. Mine fortunately isn't, the meds I am taking take my pressure down to around 135/85, just within the limits of safe. You should be able to ask for something similar to minimize side effects.
Hopefully your doctor isn't a pill pusher. Mine fortunately isn't, the meds I am taking take my pressure down to around 135/85, just within the limits of safe. You should be able to ask for something similar to minimize side effects.
Paul, of course you should follow your doctor's advice.
My wife has had great success with a home blood pressure machine, using it as bio-feedback. Once a day, she takes her blood pressure and, if it's high, she uses a variety of non-medical methods to try to get it lower, right then and there, taking her blood pressure several times in a row and usually watching it come down.
If you haven't tried this or other forms of biofeedback, I recommend that you do, with your doctor's permission, of course. My wife's doctor suggested blood pressure medicine, my wife told me, I made the suggestion to work on it before going with a pill, and the doctor was all in favor of our alternative approach.
I also highly recommend adding a "soft" practice to your life if you don't have one already - even more than one soft practice. E.g., meditation, yoga, tai chi. Get a massage, see a chiropractor, even something as simple as taking a longer hot shower. My wife practices Buteyko breathing under my guidance and this has helped her as well.
=S=
My wife has had great success with a home blood pressure machine, using it as bio-feedback. Once a day, she takes her blood pressure and, if it's high, she uses a variety of non-medical methods to try to get it lower, right then and there, taking her blood pressure several times in a row and usually watching it come down.
If you haven't tried this or other forms of biofeedback, I recommend that you do, with your doctor's permission, of course. My wife's doctor suggested blood pressure medicine, my wife told me, I made the suggestion to work on it before going with a pill, and the doctor was all in favor of our alternative approach.
I also highly recommend adding a "soft" practice to your life if you don't have one already - even more than one soft practice. E.g., meditation, yoga, tai chi. Get a massage, see a chiropractor, even something as simple as taking a longer hot shower. My wife practices Buteyko breathing under my guidance and this has helped her as well.
=S=
Paul Sellers
Level 5 Valued Member
Always excellent advice re the doctor, Steve. My priority is staying alive so I can be around for my little boy as he grows up. Second priority is to be active and strong for the same reason. I watched my father deteriorate from the strongest man I've ever known to a shuffling shadow of his former self. It scares me little that once you start on the pathway of permanent medication one thing leads to another while you might be technically alive, it's not much to celebrate if all you can manage is a short walk to the shops and back. I've booked an appointment with my doctor so we'll see what the conversation brings...
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