According to Medscape, an influential body of doctors believe that the new target for blood pressure should be 130/80, a target that 45 % of Americans cannot meet.
However at this level the elderly may suffer dizziness and fainting spells, syncope and sudden collapses. ' Ah yes, but better than a stroke or heart attack', say the proponents.
Yes, your dead right, this 77 year old is dizzy and faint, cardiologist says stop ramipiral nurse says don't. Seeing gp at 10.30. Will report back. Jane
I was told to keep taking Ramipril, I was also told to drink an extra 3 pints of water a day to make sure I kept hydrated. My fit bit will also track the amount of water that I drink and has an indicator set at 2.2 litres or about 5 pints. The doctor's reasoning is that as your hydration drops your body lacks fluid and blood becomes thicker and more to difficult to push around your body.
When you exercise the pushing is constant and strong, but the moment you stop, the pushing stops and you fall down, or in my case, at the end of a 6 mile walk, kneel down and slowly faint. Quickly followed by a rapid recovery as the brain is replenished, enabling me to stand up and talk to my companions.
When you get older your sense of thirst gets weaker and there is a tendency to assume it is hunger rather than thirst. A pint of water is about 500 ml, A mug about 300 and a cup about 200ml. A fair amount of fluid.
What was the ‘old’ ‘target’? Do they mean target maxima (at rest)? That being the case it used to be that a diastolic reading of 90 or above was a concern. Reducing that to 80 was regarded as desirable - and I’m talking maybe 20 years ago. This doesn’t sound like anything new. The fact that 47% of Americans cannot make that probably speaks more to the health levels of many Americans than any marked change in blood pressure thinking.
The National Center for Statistics estimates that, for 2015-2016 in the U.S., 39.8% of adults aged 20 and over were obese (including 7.6% with severe obesity) and that another 31.8% were overweight so BP issues are no surprise.
I often find that the one-off blood pressure taken at Cardiology clinic (some do and some don't) should not be taken as a baseline of individual patients.
Upon exertion,
Sitting still,
Sleeping,
Post-prandial...these need to be factored in.
Blood pressure varies.
"Blood pressure varies. " Exactly. Too low is unhelpful.. dizziness.. and if you take drops to lower your eye pressures because of glaucoma, you definitely need to avoid low blood pressures. I like to take many readings, and see what the lowest is. I usually get that after a siesta. I try to have equipment ready because the slightest big movement shoots up the reading. Then I also record normal activity readings, and finally, I try to get the BP straight after exercise. Invariably it is always much lower than that obtained at the doctor!! This gives the broader picture.
I am not too worried about "mild hypertension". Google that, you will find skeptics who can give their evidence. There is also some evidence that drug companies are trying to medicalise everyone.
But, having said that, a doctor pinned me down recently, because I have a known higher risk of bleeding because of taking warfarin. He told me I had to be on something, to take the edge off the top readings, and asked me which type I preferred. Where possible with BP you tackle a cause. I had mild asthma, so chose Amlodipine which also helps with the lungs.
Wow, what an intelligent post.
You have certainly added a whole lot more to my skeletal "reply".
Thank you for sharing.
Very useful info, indeed. 
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