Blood pressure meds

Various blood pressure medications work in different ways:

• Removes fluid by making you pee more, which lowers the amount of fluid flowing through veins and arteries. These are diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide.
• Slows down the heart by blocking the action of hormones, such as adrenaline. These are beta blockers, such as metoprolol.
• Relaxes and widens the blood vessels, so your heart doesn’t have to pump as hard. These include both ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, such as lisinopril, and calcium channel blockers, such as amlodipine.

“Normal” blood pressure is supposedly 120/80. (The top number is the pressure when your heart is beating; the bottom number is the pressure when your heart is at rest.) But blood pressure is higher in older people because our vessels are less elastic, so the “rules” for old people—over age 65—are a bit more relaxed (130/80). Nevertheless, 80 percent of us elderly are considered to have high blood pressure (hypertension).

Blood pressure numbers can be all over the place, depending on what you’re up to. Mine is always very high in medical environments— “white coat syndrome.” (Stress releases adrenaline and cortisol that tighten blood vessels and cause retention of salt.) I don’t normally take blood pressure meds, but I’ve taken them prior to medical procedures, such as knee replacements, to keep people from freaking out.

Because white coat syndrome is common and because older people naturally have higher than "normal" blood pressure, it’s estimated that around 25 percent of people are taking blood pressure meds that they don’t need. To get a better picture of your blood pressure, it’s best to take it at home at different times of the day. (You'll have to buy a monitor if you don't already have one.) Also try slow, deep breathing and see how it changes your blood pressure. You can do science experiments! 

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