High Blood Pressure – When Medications Stop Working

Most patients know that high blood pressure is bad, but many high blood pressure patients get used to having it. They take their medication, without making any significant lifestyle changes, and assume that the problem is under control. They don’t realize that they could eventually develop “medication resistant hypertension”, or high blood pressure that can’t be controlled by medications.   

Old age and obesity are the two of the biggest risk factors for resistant hypertension. Other factors include drug-related causes, certain healthcare conditions, high consumption of alcohol and/or salt, etc. The role of genetics isn’t clear at this time.  

The “takeaway” from resistant hypertension is that patients with high blood pressure should never take for granted that their condition will always be “fixed” with medication. Any diagnosis of high blood pressure has the potential to become a serious threat to our health. 

Fortunately, as long as high blood pressure is caught early, there is usually still time to make a difference. Lifestyle changes can make an enormous impact on the long-term outcome of high blood pressure. The sooner patients get started, the bigger the difference these changes will make.