WHAT YOUR DOCTOR MAY NOT HAVE TOLD YOU ABOUT YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATIONS
By David Kamnitzer, D.C.
Millions of Americans are on a variety of blood pressure medications to manage hypertension (high blood pressure). This article will focus on two drugs often used for this purpose: Calcium Channel Blockers, and Potassium Chloride.
Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs) hit the scene in the early 80's with a bang. It was so effective in lowering blood pressure that doctors assumed it would reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, 15 years later, it was proved that CCBs actually INCREASED the incidents of heart attacks. Further studies showed that they INCREASED the incidence of strokes as well.
(It should be pointed out that CCB's do have a valuable place in short-term crisis care such as severe tachycardia or certain hypertensive crises, but results can be devastating if used long term.)
More bad news ... A study published in the December 1997 Journal of the American Geriatric Society shows that when people on CCBs were given brain scans and intelligence tests, they did poorly on the intelligence tests and their brain scans showed high white matter sensitivities, a finding that is linked directly to impaired mental function.
Another study published in the March 7, 1998 British Medical Journal showed that there is a five-fold increase in the incidence of suicide among patients on CCBs. The suicides were thought to be a result from depression caused by the CCBs.
Alternatives exist both medically and nutritionally to CCBs. Please discuss alternatives with your health care provider.
Potassium Chloride is a form of potassium given to many patients who are on diuretics as part of their blood pressure management. While it is true that many such patients require potassium (as well as magnesium) supplementation, potassium chloride is often a bad choice. Many of these patients are CHLORIDE SENSITIVE. This can lead to an INCREASE in blood pressure for many people.
Many references exist showing the dangerous effects of chlorides on blood pressure. The latest of these comes from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from December 24, 1997. The reported study was done at the University of California and it was particularly interesting because it not only showed the damaging effect of potassium chloride, but also showed that there was extreme benefit to be had from supplementing hypertensive patients with potassium bicarbonate and especially potassium citrate. These two forms of potassium did a good job of not only lowering blood pressure but also of decreasing the incidence of strokes.
Make sure your health care provider is familiar with the above information. It could be a matter of life and death!
Research by Dr. Guy Schenker
