Blood Pressure Meds causing NASTY Falls

Here we are at the start of autumn.

The temperatures are DIPPING... and those colorful leaves are FALLING... but there's something you don't want to DROP, now or any time of year.

YOU!

As careful as you may be on rain-slick sidewalks, you can still find yourself DOWN for the count.

And the culprit is none other than the drugs that are supposed to SAVE you.

Fortunately, there's a way to keep you on your feet... and make you shatter-proof if you do fall... but it won't do much good unless you find a way off the BP meds.

Kaiser Permanente researchers found that among the 475,000 patients who were prescribed meds for hypertension, those whose systolic (a.k.a. top number) BP fell to 110 or less were TWICE as likely to experience a serious fall or faint than those whose BP never dropped that low.

By "serious," I mean one that landed them in the ER or a hospital bed.

And all it took was their top number dipping that low just ONCE over the course of a year.

Now, that doesn't really surprise me -- because if blood can't gush forcefully enough to your melon, you can wind up feeling dizzy, losing your balance, and even getting knocked out.

That's especially true if you're on the older side.

The older you get, the more likely you are to experience the side effects of low BP... and the harder it is for your body to normalize your BP after it takes a dive.

And if you get woozy and wind up taking a spill, bones that have grown soft with age can snap like twigs when you hit the ground.

Of ourse, even if your BP never drops below 110 while you're on blood pressure meds, you're not in the clear.

Over the long haul, we know that these pills can cause irregular heartbeat... cancer... and even problems in the bedroom.

And that raises a nagging question: Do you really NEED to be on BP meds in the first place?

I'm not a big fan of the color-by-numbers approach to treating high BP. To be honest, some folks have naturally higher blood pressure and do just fine.

And we know that blood pressure tends to go up as you get older. It's usually nothing to worry about.

But if your BP is truly dangerously high, there are plenty of natural ways to bring it down without popping one of those poison pills... and without checking into the hospital.

Both magnesium and vitamin D can help regulate your blood pressure, but that's not all.

These bone-building nutrients can also strengthen your skeleton, making it less likely that you'll break a bone if you do take a fall.

To Your Health,

Dr. Glenn S. Rothfeld, M.D.