On The Rise: 5 Reasons Your Blood Pressure Medication Isn鈥檛 Working
Keeping your blood pressure in check is a good way to lower your risk of heart disease, , and kidney disease. So, you follow orders, take your prescribed medication, and proudly accept your doctor鈥檚 praise when the blood pressure cuff demonstrates continued success. Until it doesn鈥檛.
Despite a track record of good results, a recent check-up shows those numbers are creeping up again. How can that be?
UR Medicine expert Dr. Christopher Montgomery says it鈥檚 not uncommon for blood pressure to rise, even after you thought you had it under control.
Here are five likely reasons why your blood pressure is up, despite regularly taking your pills.
- Too much salt. It can sneak into your diet at every turn: in prepared and packaged foods, some vegetables, drive-through window fare, and those delicious restaurant meals. We don鈥檛 do ourselves any favors by grabbing the salt shaker at the table either. Read labels and raise your awareness of salt in what you eat and drink. Try to limit your salt intake to less than five grams per day. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables can help you lower your salt intake, too. And if you smoke, here鈥檚 yet another reason to quit: Smoking impacts your taste buds so you鈥檒l tend to use more salt to boost foods鈥� flavors.
- Too many cups o鈥� Joe. Lots of caffeine can wreak havoc on your blood pressure. Scale it back a bit and see if that makes a difference. One or two small cups of coffee probably won鈥檛 matter but several pint-sized French roasts daily may be a problem.
- Other health issues. Your doctor may want to check for things like an overactive thyroid, sleep apnea, kidney dysfunction, or adrenal gland disorders, which can elevate blood pressure.
- Timing is everything. Consider taking your medication at a different time of day than you do now. If your doctor has you take two medications for blood pressure, try taking one in the morning, and the other one in the evening, to provide round-the-clock medication in your system. It鈥檚 a simple trick of the trade that can make a difference.
- It鈥檚 not enough. Your body may simply need more medication to lower your blood pressure. Or your doctor may prescribe a diuretic, or water pill, to create balance.
Advancing Cardiac Care
The Cardiac Care Hypertension Clinic provides tailored therapies to lower your blood pressure with fewer medications. It is one of just 10 programs in the world to offer the Rheos blood pressure device for chronic hypertension.