Are blood pressure drugs a sham?
By Dr. Jane Hendricks


Four years ago, 45 million Americans were suddenly at risk—(M)on May 14, new guidelines suggested blood pressure levels considered “normal” were dangerous all along. One in five adults falls in the new category of “prehypertension,” and is considered at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Under the new National Institutes of Health guidelines, blood pressures between 120 to 139 systolic (top number) and 80 to 89 diastolic (bottom number) are now considered abnormal. Normal is below 120/80. National High Blood Pressure Education Program experts recommend weight loss, more exercise, less salt and less alcohol. The report does not recommend drug therapy, but likely will translate into 45 million people being threatened with a lifetime of blood pressure medication.

Most people (even many doctors) do not know the significance of elevated blood pressure. They think pressure is damaging the arteries. In truth, the elevated pressure is the result of sick arteries and an unhealthy blood system. As the arterial walls become filled with cholesterol and fat, they become narrower and stiffer—(M)as a result, the pressure goes up. Saturated fat and cholesterol cause the arterial smooth muscles to spasm, which raises the pressure. Saturated fats cause blood cells to stick together and sludge, slowing blood flow, which also raises the pressure.


It is natural and desirable for the pressure to go up. The body raises the pressure to overcome resistance to flow, so that nutrients can be delivered to the tissues, despite what we do. Elevated pressure really means that the entire blood vessel system is in trouble and ready to close down with a heart attack or stroke.

The drug industry attacks elevated blood pressure with medication. The pressure may go down, but the drugs do nothing about the sick blood vessel system. Using one category of drugs is like stretching out the walls of a flexible tube in order to get a lower reading on the diagnostic tool.


The more common form of drugs for lowering blood pressure is diuretics. These force your body to pull more water from the tissues and urinate more often. This is like letting air out of your tires to get a lower tire pressure reading. The rebound effects of diuretics are more spasms and holding more water. You won’t get healthy treating the symptoms. High blood pressure is not a disease; it is a symptom of a disease. The pharmaceutical approach does nothing to reduce the risk of heart attacks and very little to reduce the risk of strokes. 

Proper action to save your life


Blood pressure above 120/80 is a serious warning that there is “trouble down below.” Your response should not be to hide the warning sign—(M)elevated blood pressure—(M)with medication. Your response should be to fix the original problem, which is too much fat in the system and/or stress. 

Now is the time to change your diet, lose weight and exercise, as recommended. Do it seriously, with a whole-food diet and regular exercise, at least four times per week. Increase your potassium-to-sodium ratio by eating more fruits and vegetables. When you follow both diet and exercise suggestions, you will attain and maintain that ideal weight and avoid blood pressure medication and most future health problems.

If fat is not the issue, then an overly stressed system caused by anxiety is certainly the culprit. Stress hormones such as adrenaline and epinephrine can rapidly elevate one’s blood pressure. Elevated stress hormones (including cortisol due to long-standing depression) also can increase blood pressure. Your situation will be unique and most likely both physiological and psychological. Mind/body medicine and nature-cure therapies are effective for treating the cause and should be tried first before resorting to pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Jane Hendricks, author of Feed Your Body, Energize Your Life! will be teaching at LifePath Center Sept 1, 4, 11 and 15. For more information, visit her website at www.communityofhigherliving.com.