Blood Pressure and Warfarin

[aetos]

Can't seem to get my Bloor Pressure under control. Currently at about 145-90
I'm 5 months post op-Bental procedure
Currently on Bisoprolol and Ramiril. In addition a baby aspirin a day with my Warfarin

I eat very healthy, salads, fruits etc and excerising daily, walking and biking 5-10 km/day
It's really getting frustrating!!
Any suggestions as I'm trying to avoid another prescription in near future from the looks.

 

[pellicle]

not entirely sure what the question is ... is it to avoid high blood pressure? To my knowledge there is no link between taking warfarin and blood pressure

 

[aetos]

Hi Pellicle, my question basically is- how can I further lower my BP. Aside from daily exercise and diet, it seems as if most natural remedies somehow clash with Warfarin. Ex garlic pills, Cayenne pepper.
As mentioned, I am very fit and active and eat healthy yet stuck in this 145/90 range.
I drink a bit of coconut water daily, some almonds, virgin olive oils with salads, fruits etc.
Any suggestions what I can naturally add to lower my BP slightly without having an effect on my current warfarin/inr levels.

 

[zee112]

Do you eat food that contains a lot of added sugar? I found by reducing foods with added sugar, I was able to lower my BP a lot. Also stress can be a contributing factor.

 

[aetos]

Do you eat food that contains a lot of added sugar? I found by reducing foods with added sugar, I was able to lower my BP a lot. Also stress can be a contributing factor.

No foods with sugar or salt.

 

[pellicle]

Hi Pellicle, my question basically is- how can I further lower my BP. Aside from daily exercise and diet, it seems as if most natural remedies somehow clash with Warfarin. Ex garlic pills, Cayenne pepper.
,

I'm not sure the do clash with warfarin. As always the definitive answer is test and see , however I'm not sure that those things do always reduce bp. I have a friend not on warfarin and her bp is higher than she'd like too and almost nothing is helping her come down below 145 anyway.

So I'm not sure if there is a simple solution.

How long have you had hypertension?

 

[aetos]

I'm not sure the do clash with warfarin. As always the definitive answer is test and see , however I'm not sure that those things do always reduce bp. I have a friend not on warfarin and her bp is higher than she'd like too and almost nothing is helping her come down below 145 anyway.

So I'm not sure if there is a simple solution.

How long have you had hypertension?

To be honest and as crazy as it sounds, I haven't the slightest idea. My surgery was late Jan, I hadn't seen a doctor up u till that day for about 10-15 yrs prior to surgery.

 

[pellicle]

To be honest and as crazy as it sounds, I haven't the slightest idea. My surgery was late Jan, I hadn't seen a doctor up u till that day for about 10-15 yrs prior to surgery.

Ok ... so there are lots of unknowns then. Your BP may be high naturally anyway (or you may be stressed and not know it because you've been stressed for so long that you think its normal)

You didn't answer or address my questions of "how do you know those things will effect your INR" or "how do you know those things will effect your BP"

Do you home test?

If not, then you should seriously consider it as a step in you reclaiming control over your health. Knowledge is Power.

Then I'd say if you are taking any BP medication you will know if it influences your INR and you can adjust your dose of warfarin carefully to keep your INR in range while on that medication.

Just because there is an interaction does not mean its to be avoided : it means its known and make efforts to manage it.

Happy to provide some guidance on helping you learn the skills you need to manage these things.

 

[aetos]

Thanks Pellicle and yes many unknowns from my past.
As for INR home testing-No. I generally go every 12-14 days at a near by clinic and have the results posted online same day(life labs, Canada)

As for knowing the effect of my INR or BP, I simply don't, I'm only going of the research of googling.
I was at one point drinking about 7-9 cups of green tea a day after learning how powerful and beneficial the tea was only to see my INR drop down to 1.7. Since I dropped it it's gone back to 2.2-2.4 levels where I'm told I should be at with my mechanical valve.
As for BP, I keep hearing that garlic pills, Cayenne pepper, hibiscus etc are very natural and effective ways of lowering your BP. On the flip side, each time I google these along with warfarin it shows nothing but interactions between the two. I'm on 7 mg warfarin a day now and would like to keep it at these dosages.
Simply trying to avoid higher dosages then current and stear clear of any additional meds as I seem to be tolerating what I'm on currently fairly well.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Thanks Pellicle and yes many unknowns from my past.
As for INR home testing-No. I generally go every 12-14 days at a near by clinic and have the results posted online same day(life labs, Canada)

my advice is this:

dilligently write down your doses and the INR you get from the clinic
after a few months you'll have a chunk of data that you can look at and clearly decide "is this caused by that" ...

all the research is of course generalised, and what matters is what YOUR effects and outcomes are.

I strongly recommend everyone to self test as that makes it far more likely that you'll detail the results. But self testing is not the key, its keeping the data and observing that. Without that its easy to go "oh, yeah, I drink and my INR is up" or "I ate greens and my INR went down" ... based on one experience. It may be correct, but needs more verification. Its like people who believe that "echinacea prevents colds" ... when the evidence is at best slim. So many people do get colds.

As for BP, I keep hearing that garlic pills, Cayenne pepper, hibiscus etc are very natural and effective ways of lowering your BP.

By "keep hearing" if you mean research "on the net" if you are reading "healthy tips" (with ads) not proper peer reviewd journals then you're reading fluff and old wives tales without the slightest amount of veracity.

Veracity is a key component to academic discussion because without it its all just ******** or fluff or at best unsubstantiated opinions
veracity
vəˈrasɪti/
noun

• conformity to facts; accuracy.
  "officials expressed doubts concerning the veracity of the story"

  synonyms:

  truthfulness, truth, accuracy, accurateness, correctness, exactness, precision,preciseness, realism, authenticity, faithfulness, fidelity; More

  • habitual truthfulness.
    "voters should be concerned about his veracity and character"

PM me if you like and I'll share a Google Sheet with you that you can use as your documentation. I've shared that with quite a few people now, and everyone has found it helpful.

Best Wishes

 

[Agian]

Hi aetos, taking an extra tablet is no big deal. Getting your bp nice and low is a better option than taking lotions and potions that may mess up your inr. I've been taking bp meds since I was a kid, and look at me....... yay

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Aetos - my diastolic blood pressure has sometimes gone quite high post surgery, often in the 80's and 90's. and sometimes my overall bp is 140/90 like yours. I have asked my cardiologist why this is happening, and will continue to ask it rather than take bp medication at this stage. In fact my cardio doesn't want me on bp meds because often my bp is back to normal (110/75), especially in the mornings and evenings (I self monitor) and he doesn't want me keeling over then due to bp meds side effects. Plus there is controversy about bp meds for when a person doesn't have that high a bp. I think going back to what they used to say about bp might be helpful sometimes, age plus 100 for the systolic ! That's how I'm viewing it unless my cardiologist becomes concerned….but he will still have to give me a reason for the high bp. (my bro-in-law has high bp and is given bp meds - he was told his renal arteries are blocking - that will be the reason for his high bp - so why aren't they putting a stent in which would then reduce his bp ? He doesn't care to question why).

 

[Agian]

It would make sense that after an avr your bp would go up. Think of the hose analogy.