My Rendering of "A MIDWESTERN DOCTOR" Blog: I Want EVERYONE to Know This About Hypertension Drugs.

Part 1: AMWD on Hypertension

When I was in practice, I was convinced that blood pressure control was essential to prevent heart attacks and strokes. I no longer think that way, partly from reading the information contained in A MIDWSTERN DOCTOR's SUBSTACK blog. (Links will appear here in a bit.)

I am now convinced that the blood pressure medications themselves are in many cases more toxic that the mildly to moderately raised blood pressure itself.

A MIDWESTERN DOCTOR (here referred to as AMWD), who is quickly becoming one of my favorite online physicians, has posted several articles about the current pillars of treatment for America's most common chronic diseases. His articles are meticulously researched, and very long. I WANT EVERYBODY TO GET THIS INFORMATION, so I am posting the parts of his writings that contain practical knowledge for non-medical people. You need to know this!

I agree with AMWD that writing about these shibboleths of modern medical practice --is scary. But I feel these things need to be discussed.

Some high points from two recent AMWD posts:

⦁ Elevated blood pressure is the most common chronic disease, and as the decades go by more and more people are declared hypertensive.

⦁ Medical doctors are taught that high blood pressure causes heart disease. The reverse may actually be the case. Sick arteries with poor blood flow cause the heart to have to pump harder in order to get enough blood/oxygen/nutrients to vital organs = higher blood pressure is needed for this. Chronic inflammation from various causes can do the same thing. The body needs the blood! so the heart pumps harder.

"High blood pressure may be more of a symptom than the root cause of circulatory issues." (AMWD)

From AMWD:

⦁ "Impaired circulation or damage to the blood vessels will cause blood pressure to go up and their correlation (is) being misinterpreted to instead believe high blood pressure causes cardiovascular disease." (AMWD)

"If fluid at a set pressure tries to move through a tube, as the tube shrinks, the pressure it creates (e.g., on the walls of the tube) will increase, while if the tube enlarges, the pressure it exerts will decrease. The body in turn continually controls where blood in the body goes by changing the heart rate and fully or partially constricting the arteries, allowing it to shunt blood to where it is most needed (e.g., by dilating arteries in that area).” (AMWD)

"Blood pressure is thus a product of two factors: the amount of blood in the arteries and the constriction or relaxation of the arteries containing it."

⦁ "Whenever the body is not getting enough blood, a sympathetic reflex will be triggered to increase the blood pressure (e.g., the heart rate rises and blood vessels tighten). " (AMWD)

⦁ The threshold for “high” blood pressure keeps getting lowered—despite no evidence existing that those levels reduce deaths. Every time the "normal" value is lowered, more blood pressure medications are sold.

⦁ Reducing blood pressure has not been shown to save lives, particularly in older people. In fact, for older people, side effects of the medications --such as dizziness and falls from too-low blood pressure-- may be a greater risk to health than the hypertension itself.

⦁ Mildly elevated blood pressure is not nearly as dangerous as it has been made out to be, especially in older people. In fact— look at the chart below.

---

AMWD: (Note: A HAZARD RATIO of 1 is “normal”. Lower than 1 = better than normal; higher than 1 = worse than normal.)

---

• "Low blood pressure (hypotension) is a problem because it prevents blood from reaching the areas where it’s needed (e.g., orthostatic hypotension or POTS describes a common situation where people become lightheaded as they stand up due to insufficient blood being pushed into the brain), but in most cases, medicine instead focuses on the consequences of high blood pressure. " (AMWD)

⦁ "I and many of my colleagues believe one of the most underappreciated (causes of high blood pressure) is anxiety, as frequently, effectively treating it can resolve a case of high blood pressure, which would otherwise receive (often indefinite) pharmacologic treatment." (AMWD)

⦁ The medications commonly used to treat hypertension have injurious side effects, some more than others, depending on what is the person's underlying circulatory problem.

--------------------------------------------

What to do if you have a diagnosis of hypertension and don't want to take the drugs?

⦁ Read these AMWD articles! Educate yourself!

⦁ What your doctor says about making diet and lifestyle changes is actually right!

⦁ Really explore the root causes of your anxiety. Make the changes that you need to make in order to feel better.

• If you decide to make changes probably best to go slow and gradual, carefully evaluating results.

⦁ AMWD has quite a few ideas which he discusses in these articles, including advice for providers. If your healthcare provider is willing to work with you on this, so much the better!

-------------------------------------------

If you have a diagnosis of hypertension, please read both of the AMWD articles linked below. Find your blood pressure medication--AMWD discusses each one of the major classes of blood pressure medications that are widely prescribed. Your medication is likely among them. Read about your medication. Do as much research as you can. Then decide whether or not it is right for you.

I would say, educate yourself here and elsewhere, think deeply and carefully. Go within, as they say. Then make your best decision. You are the boss on this. After all, whatever you choose to do, here and elsewhere in life, you will be the one, ultimately, to bear the consequences of your choice.

AMWD, obviously, writes under a pseudonym. Given the history that outspoken doctors often incur expensive litigation and end up losing their licenses anyway, this is very understandable. Reading his work, I conclude that much of his thinking is influenced by naturopathy, an area of medicine with which I am not well acquainted. But as an M.D., I see the value in much of what he says and I am open to learn more about his theories of health and disease

I hope this post has been helpful to you.

AMWD concludes his second post by saying:

"In turn, every awake physician I know gradually reached the conclusion that the current hypertension paradigm was flawed and hence became much more conservative when they would directly treat blood pressure while simultaneously having a large focus on reversing the causes of high blood pressure rather than trying to treat it with medications. It is thus my sincere hope we can bring public awareness to the dangers of over treating blood pressure as a never before seen political will now exists to make America (and the world) healthy again. "

I agree.

Here are links to both AMWD articles about hypertension:

His first, more in-depth piece:

The Great Blood Pressure Scam

His second, somewhat condensed article:

The Great Dangers of Blood Pressure Medications

I hope to explore more AMWD soon, and to present his thoughts in a way that EVERYONE can understand.

Best wishes,

Haru

---

I also periodically post health-related new items on my other SUBSTACK blog, link below— just put up two posts yesterday:

Assassinated: The Russian General who Exposed US Biolabs in Ukraine.

---