What type of BP meds do you use?

[RSR34]

I have recently been dealing with a moderate BP problem and wonder what some of you guys are on for it? I remeber Catapres (clonidine) was the rule of thumb for BB's in years past. Any feedback appreciated.

 

[Wana B Big]

atacand plus, it is a potasiam sup 16mg with a 12.5 diretic in 1 tab, i droped 2kg of water as soon as i started useing it,i break this tab in half and take am and pm ,on or off gear all year round on script.

 

[littlemack]

Atacand plus? What? I'm on atacand. Didn't know there was a plus version with diuretic in it. I'm taking 16mg per day.

 

[Orgasmo]

I take 5mg of norvace a day year round.

 

[Massive G]

Altace 10 mgs.
It has additional beneficial effects protecting the kidney by reducing protein in the urine as well.

 

[killerdice357]

Micardis HCT 80mg/25mg its a newer one.. I piss like a race horse all day long

Was on Atacand and it quit working over the years.

 

[killerdice357]

Atacand plus? What? I'm on atacand. Didn't know there was a plus version with diuretic in it. I'm taking 16mg per day.

You can go up to the 32mg on the Atacand..

 

[toby99]

Enalapril 5 mg daily

 

[gravityfighter]

Labetolol 200mgs 2x/day

 

[syntheticmuscle]

clonodine .1mg 3 at bedtime

 

[Phidias]

Altace 10 mgs.

I know it's an ACE inhibitor, but how does it compare to captopril MG?

 

[STEEDA69]

Clonodine (catapress) 0.1 mg x3 @ bed time

JD~

 

[Wana B Big]

they dont make a atacand 32mg you will have to take 2 ,16 mg thats what my doctor told me,little mack take the atacand plus they work good but break the tab in 2 or you will piss every 45 min,the diretic is called hydrochlorothiazide.

 

[RSR34]

Thanks for the input, guys!

 

[Massive G]

I know it's an ACE inhibitor, but how does it compare to captopril MG?

Altace is said to be better absorbed and have less sides than captopril (no metallic taste) either way I take 5 mgs twice a day.
The advantages of an ACE inhibitor is that they further protect the kidney from the effects of high blood pressure (by reducing it) by reducing protein in the urine. While some people will tell you that if you have protein in your urine you are a step away from kidney failure, go get a urine test after tearing down some tissue. It's in there and it's always in there. By what mechanism I don't know but Duchaine always said it was from the rapid dumping of Aminos into the bladder after training and of course the proteins are a different type. Anyway taking an ACE inhibitor reduces the protein in urine. It cut mine in half.
Now protein damaging the kidney in healthy adults? Not real sure. As BB'ers we continually are going to have a higher work load on the kidenys with protein in the urine, higher BUN, higher creatine, and higher liver enzymes and other waste products after training. Add higher BP in too and well it stresses the kidneys beyond what a normal person would. We all are almost all dehydrated meaning we don't drink enough water.
So for me when I got on BP meds I was lucky enough to get a doc that hit me up on Altace. It reduced the amount of protein in my urine in half.

Here's a study done on ALTACE that showed it delayed Renal degeneration and failure in patients with kidney disease and was even more so important that BP control alone as they did it along with norvasc and a beta blocker to reduce BP and those with lowered BP and no proteinuria control got worse while the ALTACE group did very well.
I AM NOT RECOMMENDING EVERY YOUNG GUY JUMP ON BP MEDS EITHER, IF SOMEONE IS ON THEM THE SHOULD LOOK INTO ALTACE AND NOT SELF MEDICATE THE BP MEDS. I SEE A-LOT OF PEOPLE DO THIS AND IT CAN BE DNAGEROUS IF YOU CHOOSE A TYPE THAT CONTROLS BP SAY BY DIURETIC EFFECT AND THEY HAVE THICKENED BLOOD ALREADY BY HEAVY CYCLING.
"ACE Inhibitor Reduces The Risk Of Kidney Failure In Hypertensives

Science Daily — People with kidney disease from high blood pressure have a better chance of reducing the risk of kidney failure if they take an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, according to a National Institutes of Health study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on June 6.
The African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) found that the ACE inhibitor ramipril (Altace®) slowed kidney disease by 36 percent and slashed the risk of kidney failure and death by 48 percent in patients who had at least a gram of protein in the urine. The drug was compared to the dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker amlodipine (CCB, Norvasc®). Results were not related to blood pressure control, which was comparable between study groups.

ACE inhibitors have been the preferred treatment for kidney disease of diabetes since 1994, and now AASK doctors are recommending it for kidney disease of hypertension, especially for people who also have protein in the urine. While CCBs help many patients, particularly African Americans, control blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease, patients may need an ACE inhibitor to protect the kidneys.

AASK stopped using the CCB as a main-line treatment in September 2000 on the advice of a data and safety monitoring board. AASK investigators will continue to compare the ACE inhibitor and the beta blocker metoprolol (Toprol XL®) and two blood pressure goals until the fall of 2001, when the study will end.

African Americans make up 13.9 percent of the U.S. population but 29.8 percent of people treated for kidney failure. Hardest hit are blacks ages 25 to 44, who are 20 times more vulnerable to hypertensive kidney failure. Better management of high blood pressure has led to fewer strokes and heart disease, but kidney failure is increasing. In 1998, nearly 398,000 people were treated for kidney failure in the United States, costing an average $43,000 per person for a total of $16.7 billion. "

Kidney Disease and Hypertension in African Americans
ACE Inhibitor Protects Kidneys, Ultra-Low BP Provides No Added Benefit

The largest clinical trial ever conducted in African Americans with kidney disease has concluded that an antihypertensive drug in the class of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is superior to two other classes of drugs for slowing kidney disease due to hypertension. The study also found that a very low blood pressure provides no additional benefit for the kidneys than the established standard. Results appear in the Journal of the American Medical Association November 20.

"We were surprised that the lower blood pressure level didn't have more of an effect on the kidney," said co-author Dr. Lawrence Agodoa, who specializes in kidney diseases at the National Institutes of Health. "But the good news is that we have a new tool — the ACE inhibitor — to improve the health of a large number of African Americans and others who have this type of kidney disease."

The African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) treated 1,094 patients ages 18 to 70 years with mild kidney disease of hypertension. Investigators compared a usual or standard blood pressure goal of 140/90 mm Hg in 554 patients against a lower goal of 125/75 mm Hg in 540 patients. They also compared three classes of antihypertensives: an ACE inhibitor (ramipril, Altace®), a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker (CCB) (amlodipine, Norvasc®), and a beta blocker (metoprolol, Toprol XL®). Patients were followed for 3 to 6.4 years at 21 centers. The study ended September 2001.

The ACE inhibitor reduced by 22 percent the risk of reaching the clinical end-points of kidney failure, death or a 50-percent drop in kidney function compared to the beta blocker, and by 38 percent compared to the CCB. The CCB was withdrawn as a primary treatment in September 2000 after data comparing it to the ACE inhibitor showed that the latter drug slowed kidney disease by 36 percent and reduced the risk of kidney failure and death by 48 percent in patients who had at least a gram of protein in the urine. Whereas 155 patients on the beta blocker reached an end-point, only 126 on the ACE inhibitor did. Roughly equal numbers in the two blood pressure groups reached an end-point, 167 in the usual and 173 in the low goal groups.

"The results of this trial will significantly improve the health of thousands of African Americans who suffer from kidney disease due to hypertension" said Dr. John Ruffin, director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, which co-funded AASK. "The study also demonstrates the benefit of focusing research on populations most affected."

In the final analysis, even patients with low levels of urine protein benefited greatly from the ACE inhibitor and to a lesser degree from the beta blocker. Both drugs reduce protein in the urine, rising levels of which are an indication of worsening kidney disease, a cause of more damage, and a predictor of death from heart disease and stroke. Within 6 months of starting AASK, patients on the CCB had a 58 percent increase in urine protein. In contrast, patients on the beta blocker had a 15 percent decrease in urine protein and those on the ACE inhibitor had a 20 percent decrease. The ACE inhibitor reduced by 55 percent the risk of developing high levels of urine protein (>300 mg a day) and the beta blocker reduced the risk by 35 percent.

Neither the low blood pressure goal nor any of the drugs stopped the decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which drops as kidney disease progresses. However, regardless of treatment group, GFR dropped more rapidly in patients who had higher levels of urine protein. GFR declined by 1.35 mL/min per 1.73 m2 in patients who started AASK with low levels of urine protein (≤300 mg a day) compared to a decline of 4.09 mL/min per 1.73 m2 in patients with higher urine protein (>300 mg a day).

AASK also showed that while high blood pressure may be more severe and therefore more difficult to control in African Americans, it is feasible. Only 20 percent of patients entered the study with blood pressure levels below the target of 140/90 mm Hg for a general population. Within 14 months, nearly 79 percent of people in the low-goal group and nearly 42 percent in the usual-goal group had lowered pressures to 140/90 mm Hg.

Drugs compared in the study remain important treatments for high blood pressure, helping to reduce the risk of stroke and kidney and heart disease. The Joint National Committee (JNC) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure now recommends that people with kidney disease, hypertension and protein in the urine achieve and maintain blood pressure at or below 130/85 mm Hg.

"People who have kidney disease of hypertension and any protein in the urine should be given the benefit of an ACE inhibitor, unless the drug is contraindicated, along with a diuretic" said Agodoa, who sits on the JNC and heads the NIDDK Office of Minority Health Research Coordination. "And anyone who also has heart disease or diabetes, as so many do, should try to reach the JNC goal of 130/85 mm Hg."

Kidney failure is a major expense in the United States, costing the Government, patients and insurers nearly $20 billion in 2000. Hypertension is a leading cause, accounting for 25 percent (87,000) of the nearly 379,000 people treated for kidney failure in 2000. Black Americans are six times more likely than whites to develop kidney failure from hypertension and account for 32 percent (122,000) of all treated patients.

Notes to Editors: AASK was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases; the National Center on Minority Health & Health Disparities; and the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health. Study drugs were provided by Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, and King Pharmaceuticals Inc."
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http://www.altace.com/altace/hope.aspx
**broken link removed**

[/SIZE]

If the doc ever took me off this med, I'd buy it out right for the internet pharmacy price.

 

[Clydesdale]

Toprol 50mg/day