About the Book

Many of the nearly 70 million Americans with hypertension (high blood pressure) would like to bring it under control through lifestyle changes such as losing weight, cutting back on salt, exercising, or reducing stress. But, like it or not, most will require medication to get their blood pressure where it needs to be. The good news is that we have many excellent blood pressure medications, which, when prescribed wisely, can control hypertension in almost everyone. The bad news is that, despite good intentions, doctors are placing millions of people who have hypertension on medications, drug combinations, or doses that are wrong for them.The consequences are staggering: .According to the 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, nearly one-third of the 50-plus million people currently taking blood pressure medication remain at increased risk for significant cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart attack because their hypertension is not adequately controlled. .Millions suffer from side effects, most of which are avoidable. .Billions of dollars of avoidable health care costs are spent needlessly for unnecessary and expensive medications, health consequences of inadequate blood pressure control, and lost productivity due to side effects.Since blood pressure medication currently governs how tens of millions feel, how well their blood pressure is controlled, and how long they will live, this is not a small problem. Most doctors, although well-intentioned, don t have the intimate knowledge of blood pressure medications needed to prescribe them wisely. They are doing what they think is right, without realizing that there are better ways to select medications, combinations, and dosages. In addition, just like those of us who see ads for drugs on TV or in magazines, doctors are considerably influenced by the promotion of the newest, most expensive drugs, and prescribe those drugs frequently.Even the published medical research that doctors rely on is often misleading, since most studies of the newer drugs are funded by the pharmaceutical industry. Many of those studies overstate the benefits and understate the adverse effects of the drugs. At the same time, the best of the older drugs are ignored because they are off patent and aren t promoted.Hypertension and You is directed at the more than 50 million Americans (including a majority of people over the age of 60) who are taking blood pressure medication. It s the first book to make the case that something is terribly wrong with how doctors are prescribing drugs for this condition. Many patients suspect they might be on the wrong medication but don t know enough to be sure. The book shows how medications can be prescribed more wisely to achieve better results. It empowers readers to discuss their medications with their health care providers.Many books discuss blood pressure medications, providing standard information on the drug classes, dosage range, list of side effects, etc. They recommend the usual menu of drugs, but they fail to communicate that there are problems with how they are prescribed. They don t convey that different people do better with different drugs. They don t teach readers about the wonderful, but old and forgotten, drugs that can control their hypertension without side effects and at a lower cost than newer drugs. They don t reveal which of the widely prescribed new drugs are good and which are not. Here, Dr. Mann, a nationally recognized hypertension specialist, identifies the drugs most likely to have side effects, and those that can be used in their place. He describes the shortcomings of some of the new drugs, while also introducing readers to some excellent old drugs that are woefully underused as a result of the publicity blitz surrounding the new, expensive ones. He emphasizes the importance of matching the medication and dosage to the individual who will be taking them, and presents the overlooked clues that can tell us who should be on which drug (even an excellent drug can be the wrong one if it is given to the wrong person or in the wrong dose).Hypertension and You provides many ideas and approaches that will be new to readers, and also to many physicians, and which no other book offers. Readers can discuss these approaches with their doctor and make changes right away that can help lower their blood pressure, reduce or eliminate side effects, and, more often than not, reduce medication costs.

Product Details

Media: Paperback Book, 195 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Edition: Unknown

ISBN-10: 1442215178

Publication Date: Jun. 16th, 2012

ISBN-13: 9781442215177

Dimensions: 5.90 x 9.19 x 0.49 inches

Shipping Weight: 0.68 lbs

• Categories: Heart Disease Cardiology