< previous page | page_5 | next page >
Page 5
| Drugs for hypertension (high blood pressure) are pharmaceutical best-sellers, and patients typically take at least three medications, one to dilate or open blood vessels, another to slow the rapid heart beat the first drug causes as a side effect and a third to treat the fluid retention caused by either of the first two. In many cases, blood pressure remains high despite these drugs, and in some cases, the drugs have actually caused heart attacks. Despite risks and failure of these drugs, many physicians tell their patients to stay on them because they are the ''approved treatment" and therefore the doctor's defense in case of lawsuits. |
| Add to this a lack of agreement on a definition of high blood pressure (what one physician considers high another may regard as normal, depending on the patient's age and history) and the pressure-raising anxiety many patients experience in a doctor's office ("white coat" blood pressure is a temporary, stress-induced spiking of pressure), and, according to many experts, you have an alarming number of "border-line" patients on medication that is not only unnecessary but potentially harmful. |
| Even when they aren't fatal, most hypertension drugs cause impotence in men and other side effects in both men and women. Diuretics can cause dizziness, depression, headaches and mineral imbalances, and they can cause cholesterol levels to rise. |
| Beta-blockers, another type of blood pressure drug, have even more dangerous side effects, ranging from possible depression, hallucination and insomnia to liver and kidney damage. Beta-blockers are especially dangerous to smokers and those with respiratory problems, including hay fever allergies. |
< previous page | page_5 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!