Is high blood pressure over-diagnosed?
In the last ten years or so the medical approach to high blood pressure has changed quite significantly. It is now widely over-diagnosed and over-medicated by mainstream doctors. For years and years the standard guideline for high blood pressure was 140/90 and above. And this was further moderated by age: the rule of thumb was that 100 plus your age was the normal limit for systolic blood pressure.
Now all of a sudden many doctors prescribe drugs the moment a patient’s blood pressure reaches 140/90, regardless of the patient’s age. What’s more, as low as 130/80 is being called "prehypertension" and is often treated with drugs as well. This might not be so bad except for the fact that blood pressure medications can be dangerous and are often worse than the condition itself, especially when it’s just moderately elevated blood pressure.
Healthy lifestyle changes will almost always lower blood pressure when given the chance.
