Hypertension drugs taken for stroke prevention actually increase stroke risk

February 9, 2024

Does this PROVE that stroke prevention with BP meds is USELESS?

They’re CONSTANTLY on your back… making sure you’re taking your blood pressure pills. 

They say they’re CRUCIAL to protecting your heart health if you’ve got hypertension…

And if you DON’T take them… you’re in the crosshairs for heart disease…

A heart attack…

Or a stroke. 

Keeping up with your BP meds could even keep you ALIVE…

Or so they say. 

But the truth is now STARING us in the face… 

Because according to a new study, certain blood pressure-lowering drugs could put your heart health at RISK!

I’m talking about ACE inhibitors. 

These meds bring your blood pressure down by STOPPING your body from making blood vessel-constricting chemical, called Angiotensin II. 

That keeps your vessels from SQUEEZING too tight…

And the WIDER your veins and arteries are… the more EASILY blood can flow through them. 

But the SHOCKING truth is… ACE inhibitors are actually associated with an 11% higher stroke risk than another class of BP meds, called diuretics (a.k.a. “water pills”). 

That includes strokes that land you in the hospital, but you SURVIVE…

And strokes that could KILL you!

The SCARIEST part of this is that this isn’t the FIRST time that researchers have found a link between stroke risk and antihypertensive drugs. 

And ACE inhibitors aren’t the ONLY drugs of this type that could lead to this LIFE-THREATENING cardiovascular event. 

A 2016 study published in the American Heart Association’s Stroke medical journal found that both ARBs and beta blockers also BOOST stroke risk… and in folks over 65.

The study’s authors wrote a DAMNING statement, right there in black and white: “Stroke risk was generally not reduced by BP-lowering drugs.”

Now, if you bring this research up to your heart doc… he might just use it as an excuse to get you on another class of BP meds…

Like calcium channel blockers. 

But those drugs AREN’T without their own drawbacks… as they can WEAKEN your blood flow…

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And even CAUSE heart rhythm problems. 

Now, some of these drugs might not HIJACK your heart health right away. In fact, this latest study I just mentioned looked at the long-term risks of BP meds… after more than 20 years had passed.

But that’s the thing about starting up on a drug that artificially lowers your BP. It’s darn near IMPOSSIBLE to ever get off the thing!

So it’s not that uncommon for older folks to have been popping these pills for DECADES on end.

I’m one of the lucky ones – I managed to quit taking losartan back in 2019, and I’ve never gone back. 

I now manage to keep my blood pressure in check through nutrition and supplements alone!

My top recommendations for natural blood pressure remedies include hawthorn… CoQ10… and fish oil (with both EPA and DHA omega-3s). 

If your blood pressure is TRULY high… and dietary changes aren’t doing the trick… you’ll want to look at what other factors might be SPIKING your numbers. 

The most obvious ones that come to mind are stress… mental health issues (like anxiety and feeling lonely)… and caffeine. 

Less obvious are some of the OTHER drugs you may be taking… even seemingly “safe” OTC ones, like Tylenol!

Do an audit of your medicine chest… and work with your doc to get off any stimulants (including non-drowsy decongestants). 

Friend, if you’re ALREADY taking an ACE inhibitor… or any other kind of BP-lowering med… don’t go “cold turkey” without getting the greenlight from your doc. 

Most of those meds could be pretty dangerous to just quit like that… and require you to TAPER DOWN the dosage so you can WEAN yourself off of them.

For better health,

Dr. Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.

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