Quite surprisingly, many doctors were satisfied with the status quo, even when these patients had blood pressures in the high blood pressure range.

So, as a patient, you need to know what your blood pressure should be; and you need to know what it is; and if your doctor is not bringing it down to normal limits, then you need to ask for more medication until you get it there.

A reputable website where you can learn all about high blood pressure is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure. There are also many patient-friendly fact sheets at www.WebMD.com and www.MayoClinic.com.

But you can also just remember this:  If your BP is over 140/90, then your doctor needs to give you medication to bring it to below those numbers. (And if you have diabetes, then your BP needs to be under 130/80.) And BP is an average, so we’re talking about on average what your BP is.

Remember that for each day, hour and minute that your BP stays high, you are harming your blood vessels—like those to your heart, your brain, your legs, your eyes and your kidneys.  So keep those numbers normal.

And if you’re on a BP medication and you’re having side affects you don’t want to deal with—just tell the doctor you want to change it. There are many BP drugs. Get one that works with you and your lifestyle.

And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t lose weight, exercise, stop smoking and lower your salt intake.  I’m just saying that it’s the end result that’s important, and that the sooner your BP can get into the normal range and stay there, the better off you are.  Then if or when you lose weight, you can go off of the BP meds. But use them until then.