Kenna Morton's Journal, 20 October 2022

I have had all of those at one time or another. Thankfully the last rarely.  

Thanks for sharing this chart Kenna  

Thanks Kenna  

At which point do doctors prescribe medications? 

When We assess a patient for hypertension we look at the patient who s sitting in front of us. Overweight, swollen ankles, family history of high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, SOB. If the BP is high on presentation I always retake it after they have sat for a while. Is the patient aware of there blood pressures, do they check it at home. Depending on the answers and how high the presenting BP and rechecked pressure is, the doc will either have them monitor their pressure at home for a couple of weeks and then revisit the data. If it is still high, they may start them on something then and there, talk about weight loss, possibly start them on a water pill to pull off some of the fluid, then have them re-evaluate in a couple of weeks. You can fairly quickly identify patients who are relatively non compliant, especially if this is not an initial consultation. Then, you just have to treat and hopefully the patient will see their predicament and get serious about staying alive. 

He doctors are inclined to start meds at stage1 depending on age weight, medical history. They have found that older adults (seniors) may do e better with a slightly higher BP because,of the risk of hypotension episodes leading to falls and broken hips (kiss of death).