That makes sense. Thanks. fwiw I’m 41 so I’m not too worried about falls
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That was a great video.
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My bp was averaging 122/80 on 80mg of Telmisartan.
When I started on just half a tablet of Dutasteride I quickly noticed every time I got up from a squatting position I had orthostatic hypotension. Measured my bp and 10 points had dropped off.
Have gone back to 40mg on the Telmisartan to get it back up to around 120/80 again.
If height has anything to do with it I’m 6ft 2” Maybe shorter people can get away with a lower bp. I need the 120 level.
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I’m much shorter, 5’3”, and also have orthostatic BP and also prefer 120 to function. I usually measure my BP in standing and then in sitting position. The difference in systolic is sometimes 15-20 points. Most of the day I’m either standing or moving, therefore I rely more on t standing readings, which I prefer to be 120.
I was not sure what his wrap-up was, so I asked for a synthesis of his message. Yet, at the beginning, he cited a whack-a-mole, but then at the end, he leaves it in suspension? Has anyone grasped his take-home message?
Does the AI construe the takehome the same you guys construed?
__________________________________________________________________________________AI Gemini flash 2.5
In the video, Dr. Brad Stanfield shares his personal journey in managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol, highlighting how his experience reflects important principles in disease prevention and longevity.
Summary of Content:
Dr. Stanfield recounts discovering he had high blood pressure (140) back in 2011, during his second year of medical school, a value not optimal for his age. Despite an initial false sense of security due to a lower reading in a medical setting, consistent home monitoring revealed persistent values between 140 and 150. He ruled out secondary causes and, despite maintaining a healthy lifestyle, concluded that genetics played a significant role.
For blood pressure management, he opted for a combined pharmacological approach:
- He started with candesartan (an angiotensin receptor blocker), gradually increasing the dose.
- He added empagliflozin (an SGLT2 inhibitor), despite not being diabetic, for its benefits on blood pressure and potential effects on male longevity (according to mouse studies), a choice that required specialist approval.
For cholesterol:
- He noted a slight increase in LDL cholesterol due to empagliflozin.
- He started with rosuvastatin (a statin) to reach a very low LDL cholesterol level (below 1.4 mmol/L or 50-60 mg/dL), a level associated with the absence of plaque.
- He added ezetimibe to enhance the cholesterol-lowering effect.
- Subsequently, he replaced rosuvastatin with pravastatin (a less potent statin but with a lower risk of inducing type 2 diabetes), once he reached his LDL target.
The Key Takeaway (Take-Home Lesson):
Dr. Stanfield’s main lesson is that, while a healthy lifestyle (diet and exercise) is absolutely fundamental for health and longevity, in many cases genetics plays a predominant role. Therefore, it may be necessary and wise to resort to pharmacological interventions to achieve and maintain target blood pressure and cholesterol values, even in otherwise healthy individuals with an exemplary lifestyle.
He also emphasizes the importance of regularly monitoring one’s values at home and the strategy of using combinations of low-dose medications to maximize effectiveness and minimize side effects.
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