Will a doctor prescribe medication to a 27-year-old male with high blood pressure?

Question

My boyfriend over the past year has consistently had high blood pressure. Most recently it was 166/94, though he had gotten it down to 137/84. He is 27, 6'0", and weighs around 200. In the past year, he has lost 55 lbs and almost completely changed his diet and started exercising regularly. Still, his bp registers high when we check it. High blood pressure runs in his family, even among non-obese members.

He refuses to go to the doctor about this because he does not want to take pills for it (thinks he's too young). I don't think a doctor would prescribe medication for someone so young without first trying to help him manage it with changes to his lifestyle. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Answer 1

Yes, a good doctor will put you medication. Unfortunately a lot of doctors will waste time and tell you to do lifestyle changes first and go on the dash diet. This is all good advise, but does little if you have a family history of high blood pressure. I had high blood pressure at a young ate and then lost over 70 pounds and got to my ideal weight. It did not bring down my blood pressure enough. My mom died of a stroke brought on by high blood pressure. All my uncles have high blood pressure and everyone of them has had a heart attack. I don't play around, I take my medication. It took almost a year to find one that I liked. Most of them have side effects and it was the side effects my mom did not like taking pills either. For a young guy like him, I recomend taking an Ace Inhibitor (like Altace) or an ARB medication (like Atacand). These have no sexual side effects and they protect your kidneys. I take Atacand even though it is expensive, because it has no side effects for me at all. I find when you get your blood pressure under control, you are not as angry or jittery too.

Answer 2

This is a more complicated question than it appears. Blood Pressure Measurements consist of two variable, Systolic Blood Pressure and Diastolic Blood Pressure. There is a range of normals but as a rough guide 130/70 is good. (The 130 is the systolic and the 70 is the diastolic). The more critical value is the diastolic in terms of determining high blood pressure. At your age, any value over 85 would be of concern. It the systolic goes over approx 170, that would be a worry too. There are a number of things other than medication that can help to lower high blood pressure. These include aerobic exercise, diet, low salt, and a lean weight. Race is also a factor. Blacks tend to get higher blood pressure with greater frequency than Caucasians. At 5' 6", 165 is a bit heavy, you could probably do better at 140-150. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

3 years ago, I was diagnosed - hypertension with a reading of 160/100. I used to feel dizzy a lot, my legs had awful cramps, and levels were very low in my potassium, causing my fingers and toes to always cramp together. One day I started to feel really faint while I was driving with my daughter in the back seat and I passed out, hitting 3 cars and ending up in a ditch. That moment,I knew I had to do something because my meds weren't working. I heard about this diet from a friend and thought I'd give it a shot. The results have been remarkable. In just 21 days, I honestly can't remember feeling this good, my blood pressure went from 175/110 to 125/70.

Answer 4

For a couple of weeks he should take his blood pressure every day to get an idea of what his range is. It sounds as if he has done pretty much all he can do with lifestyle changes, unless of course he smokes; in which case he should stop. He could also try cutting back on salt but probably he will need to go on meds and if so it should be sooner rather than later. As others have pointed out, age has nothing to do with it

Answer 5

I was that age when I started taking bp meds, same height and weight, too. The question is, does he want to take meds, or does he want to go on dialysis when the pressure destroys his kidneys? Or have open heart surgery (and ruin his beautiful body) when he blows out a heart valve?

No, meds are the first course of action. The potential for damage is far too great to wait for life-style change to make a difference, and with his family history, life-style won't make a difference anyway: he needs the meds, just like I did. Get him to a doctor. Guess what? Boyfriend is mortal like everyone else.

Answer 6

He should definetly go to the doctor there could be many reasons for his high blood pressure. I had HBP when I was 17 and had to be medicated cause they couldn't find any reason for it. It could simply be genetic but also could relate to kidney problems, diabetes, and a list of other internal complications.

Answer 7

they will work on diet and eating habits and do pills if needed. You don't want to mess with high blood pressure...take care of your self

Answer 8

i'm in my 20's, female, and i take HBP med. one pill per day....if he doesn't get help he could have a stroke.

Answer 9

Thats all docs do is to push drugs.

Answer 10

They should