Folks on hypertensive medications can not only cut back on the dosage, but change drugs when necessary, sometimes eliminate them and still look forward to a longer, healthier life than ever before. The key is proper care.
A five-year study by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of more than ten thousand men and women with hypertension showed the benefits of reducing drug therapy. It was discovered that those who were treated in special clinics where they were intensively monitored and had their drug dosages adjusted had a 17 percent lower death rate from hypertension-associated conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure than a matched group that was not followed up as intensively. Moreover, there was a 28.6 percent reduction in the death rate among those in the intensive-care group with borderline or mild hypertension.
When a drug is prescribed, it does not mean that a patient is locked into an irreversible, lifetime pattern. In some cases, once blood pressure is brought down under stable control, it is often possible to lower dosages or to stop some drugs entirely, at least for a while. Just knowing that if you stick to your doctors advice, take your medication, and eat properly theres a good chance you can lower your blood pressure and stop taking drugs is incentive enough for most people to stick to a strict regimen. And that can have a profound impact, because many patients stop paying close attention to their doctors advice once they begin feeling better.
