Hypertension And Medical Marijuana; Why Is It So Important?

[Michael Komorn]

Hypertension and Medical Marijuana; Why is it so important?

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.mcsocal.com/blog/hypertension-and-medical-marijuana-why-is-it-so-important?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

 

 

 

The leading cause of death in men AND women is not cancer, it is cardiovascular disease. And the main contributor to heart disease is your blood pressure. Before I go into the “why’s” let me make this blanket statement. Along with controlling your blood sugar (and insulin levels) the most important thing you can do to lower your risk of having a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease is to keep your blood pressure in the normal range.

 

High blood pressure is called the “silent killer“. You feel fine, you look fine, you do not feel ill, but your cardiovascular system is sick. Your heart is working extra hard to pump blood and oxygen throughout your body because of the increased resistance in your blood vessels. The analogy I often make to my patients is: “It’s like you are driving down the freeway at 75 mph in 3rd gear. You are moving but your engine is working way to hard. If you don’t put it in 5th it is going to fail much sooner than normal.” So if your heart is pumping against a pressure of 159/95 it is working extra hard and you need to take the strain off of it by lowering it to 120/80.

 

Your heart is a muscle and requires oxygen to survive. Because it’s a muscle the harder it has to work the larger it gets. Unlike big biceps, you do not want an enlarged heart. It doesn’t pump as efficiently and ultimately this leads to congestive heart failure. More importantly, along the way to an enlarged heart you are increasing your risk of HEART ATTACK, STROKE and KIDNEY DISEASE. All three of these things are very bad. 50% of people find out they have heart disease when the die of a heart attack. Many stroke victims end up having a caregiver taking care of the day to day things that you can no longer perform (i.e feed yourself or wipe your butt). Lastly, having high blood pressure ultimately causes your kidneys to shut down. I have seen many patients in their 30′s who are on dialysis because they ignored their blood pressure.

 

So what is the cause? 90% of high blood pressure is considered “essential” or genetic. However certainly poor lifestyle habits are the root cause (although there are very healthy people who develop high blood pressure solely because they have bad genes) . There are many secondary causes of high blood pressure and your doctor should be able to rule most of those out with some simple tests and a good history.

 

To treat or not to treat? In medicine you always want to weigh the risks vs benefits in anything you do. Blood pressure medication, for the most part, is very benign and well tolerated. YOU ARE MUCH BETTER OFF TAKING A SIMPLE PILL AND HAVING NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE THAN WALKING AROUND WITH HYPERTENSION. The risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease is too great.

 

I understand that most people HATE taking medication. I am one of those people. However until you can get your blood pressure under control it is IDIOTIC not to take a simple medication until you can. Even if you have to stay on blood pressure medication your whole life, so what! No one gets through life disease free. BP meds are NOT going to kill you or alter your quality of life. Think of them as a life saver and thank God someone developed it.

 

So what about medical marijuana and high blood pressure. There are NOT a lot of controlled studies looking at a direct correlation. In practice I have not seen marijuana lower blood pressure to where patients can stop taking medications. However, things like stress, lack of sleep and chronic pain can all directly increase your blood pressure. Medical marijuana can help all three of these and theoretically lower your blood pressure. This is a case by case basis and I can not make any blanket statements about your specific situation.

 

Blood pressure is something that needs to be tackled from many angles; meal planning, stress reduction, pharmaceuticals/medically and spiritually. All of these in combination can lead you back to a path of health. Looking at any one of these alone without addressing the other is going to be futile.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by

 

Michael Komorn

 

18006563557

 

 

[peanutbutter]

So 235/135 is a little high?

[Musicianized]

So 235/135 is a little high?

 

Yeah you might want to try some atenelol.... I don't think MJ is gonna bring that down for you.

 

There's a lot of anxiety related hypertension patients out there. I think MJ would be the wrong answer for those cases. I get high and my anxiety soars, right along with my BP...

[samtheclam]

I can speak for myself, it has lowered my bp. I had a heart attack, but now i have changef my lifestyles. Very bad genes in my family both sides.

[peanutbutter]

There's a lot of anxiety related hypertension patients out there. I think MJ would be the wrong answer for those cases. I get high and my anxiety soars, right along with my BP...

 

Yep .. not necessarily mmj related, but war related.

 

We are sick people at war.

[Musicianized]

Yep .. not necessarily mmj related, but war related.

 

We are sick people at war.

 

Well I think it should be legal for anyone, for any reason they want and I will argue that till I die.

[SlowJustice]

I was sick all summer and feeling like I was dying, went to the doc and had all kinds of tests only to find out on my own that it was the blood pressure meds and MM working together to lower my bp, Long story short, the meds did their job but the MM did it better but together they dropped my bp to 90 over 50. On just MM my bp is 120 over 80.. one more of leos meds down the drain

[SparklyBuds]

My Bp's been up this past year,sometimes it's fine and other times it's 150 / 100. So my doc tried putting me on a m ed. Problem is I'm on several meds already for several chronic conditions & at the point where adding another med just makes me really sick (throwing up). So, couldn't take the med. So, just got some high BP sometimes.

[Robman]

I also have high blood pressure, not taking any pills for it but the mmj does help in my case.

 

 

Rob

[mike44]

I find that the fear of not knowing when the heavily armed assault team will come crashing through my door, tends to raise my blood pressure. I'm sure without this threat marijuana would have a positive effect. Untill some changes come about where growing a medical herb is not treated on equal ground with commiting massive terror attacks, I won't see much benefit from it.

[Mememe]

Anyone looked into Hibiscus tea to lower BP? http://www.bastyrcenter.org/content/view/489/

[The Digital Nomad]

I was able to stop Norvasc after several months on MM.

As someone with medical experience on a cardiac unit, everyone is different, there are different reasons people will have hypertension - so while marijuana does not have adverse drug reactions, marijuana can effect your medical condition - either improving it where the powerful pills are not needed anymore, or marijuana can improve other aspects of your medical condition, but not fixing the problem where you can stop taking certain medications.

 

This is why we need freedom to consult with our doctors without prejudice about MM. Do not stop medications suddenly.

 

DN

[Croppled1]

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This is why we need freedom to consult with our doctors without prejudice about MM. Do not stop medications suddenly.

 

DN

 

 

There are many here very upset with how the system has treated them when they developed problems with medications . Patients often project their own frustration and anger from suffering due to side effects or detoxification on medications themselves when in truth it is the policies and behaviors of society regarding readjustment and finding the solutions that effectively address problems which is where they should be focusing on . The drug war is a concept that has been very harmful to medical progress and fair treatment of individuals within our medical system . As the legal system becomes intertwined with medical care it is loosing focus and poor treatments are often supported due to the lack of a free market

 

Though it has come from a complete reexamining of my treatment routine . Cannabis allowed me to be able to detox off pain meds for the first time in years and perform a honest evaluation again which has lead to implementing a new and improved treatment routine . Where my BP was full of dangerous spikes and elevated for 6 months now I have remained at improved levels . Yesterday for the third month in a row instead of numbers like 162/105 I recorded 114/76 with reasonable comfort except while being transported in a vehicle which has always been a problem since receiving my spine injury( I walk and drive when I can I am not in a chair ) . I so wish that instead of being involved in a drug war I could be involved in the recording of what is improving and why .

 

Sadly the drug war which is based on frustration , anger and greed mans worst qualities is taking all the focus away from the possibilities of medical progress . I can definitely state cannabis has created a background where my blood pressure has been addressed in a more appropriate and effective manner upon reflection made possible due to the increased level of comfort gained through medical cannabis use and the compassion of the SSD program .

[djkazoo]

As a patient that was on 3 blood pressure meds, I'm happy to report that since I've become legal (November 2010), I have been able to eliminate all the bp meds. However, one still helps with another little problem (hot flashes), so I continue to take it for that reason alone.

 

As a cancer patient, I could tell you stories of how it's helped other areas of my life. If it weren't for MMj, I don't think I'd be alive today....

[peanutbutter]

I find that the fear of not knowing when the heavily armed assault team will come crashing through my door, tends to raise my blood pressure. I'm sure without this threat marijuana would have a positive effect. Untill some changes come about where growing a medical herb is not treated on equal ground with commiting massive terror attacks, I won't see much benefit from it.

 

The choppers don't help much either..

 

Didn't see any today.