Women taking blood pressure drugs were 31% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease

Older women with hypertension who were taking blood pressure drugs were 31% were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease alone than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs even though their average systolic pressure was 12 points lower (137 vs 149 mm Hg) according to a 2004 study.

Eight (8) Different Blood Pressure Drug Groups

Women taking an ACE inhibitor were 4% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 12 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [137 vs 149 mm Hg mm Hg]].

Women taking a Beta Blocker were 15% LESS likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 11 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [138 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking a Calcium Channel Blocker were 74% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 10 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [139 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking a Diuretic were 15% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 13 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [136 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking a Diuretic + ACE inhibitor were 12% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 16 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [133 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking a Diuretic + Beta Blocker were 21% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 15 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [134 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking a Diuretic + Calcium Channel Blocker were 136% MORE likely to die (2.4 times more likely to die) from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 11 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [138 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking an ACE inhibitor + Calcium Channel Blocker were 56% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 8 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [141 vs 149 mm Hg]].

Women taking a Blood Pressure Drug were 31% MORE likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women NOT taking a blood pressure drug even though their systolic pressure was 12 points lower than women with hypertension not taking blood pressure drugs [137 vs 149].

This data does NOT include Total Deaths, which, I would guess, would have been even WORSE

And the data we just looked does NOT include TOTAL deaths.

It ONLY includes deaths from 
cardiovascular disease.

It does NOT include deaths from 
cancer, suicide, congestive heart failure, 
respiratory problems, kidney problems, diabetes, etc.

My guess is that if we had the data on total deaths it would have been even worse for the women taking blood pressure drugs.

2018 Study Found the SAME thing: 10% MORE Deaths in people taking blood pressure drugs

A 2018 study found the same thing, that people with mild hypertension (140-159 / 90-99 mm Hg) who were taking blood pressure drugs were 10% MORE likely to die during a median follow-up of 5.8 years than people of the SAME age and SAME blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs.

The article is posted here

People taking blood pressure drugs were also 9% MORE likely to develop cardiovascular disease during a median follow-up of 5.8 years than people of the same age and same blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs.

See here.

Those taking blood pressure drugs were 34% MORE likely to develop congestive heart failure than people of the same age and same blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs.

See here.

Those taking blood pressure drugs were 37% MORE likely to develop acute kidney injury than people of the same age and same blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs.

See here.

Those taking blood pressure drugs were 72% MORE likely to develop electrolyte abnormalities than people of the same age and same blood pressure who were NOT taking blood pressure drugs.

See here.

Conclusion: Blood Pressure Drugs have Killed More People Than They Have Saved

Data from this 2004 study and the 2018 study suggests to me that blood pressure drugs have killed more people than they have saved.

Reason for why blood pressure drugs were associated with a GREATER risk of death

I believe that there are a couple of reasons for this—why blood pressure drugs INCREASED the risk of death in these two studies (as well as other studies).

The first reason is that a paper in 2000 by UCLA statistician Sidney Port, PhD found that our beliefs about blood pressure are WRONG.

(Port S, Demer L, Jennrich R, Walter D, Garfinkel A. Systolic blood pressure and mortality. Lancet. 2000 Jan 15, 355(9199):175-80.)

Port found that they have been using the WRONG statistical model since 1968 when the Framingham study was published.

Port found that the risk of dying does NOT gradually increase as systolic pressure increases, which is the current FALSE belief, but rather there is a threshold effect in which the risk of dying only increases above a certain threshold, which depends on your age and your gender.

The older you get, the higher your systolic pressure can be with NO increased risk of death.

Port also found that a woman’s blood pressure can be higher than a man’s of the same age with NO increased risk of death.

Very roughly, Port found that systolic pressure should not exceed 100 plus your age (which was an old rule-of-thumb for blood pressure).

Essential Hypertension is really a potassium deficiency

Second, I believe that Essential Hypertension (hypertension of “unknown cause”) is really nothing more than a potassium deficiency.

I posted an article as to why I say this here.

You cannot correct a potassium deficiency by giving drugs.

You can only correct a potassium deficiency by increasing potassium.

Those are the reasons why I believe that blood pressure drugs have killed more people than they have saved: 1) You cannot lower the risk of dying in someone with normal blood pressure, you will only increase it. 2) Essential hypertension is really a potassium deficiency, and they only way to address this deficiency is by increasing potassium, not by giving drug.

Reference

Wassertheil-Smoller S, Psaty B, Greenland P, Oberman A, Kotchen T, Mouton C, Black H, Aragaki A, and Trevisan M. Association between cardiovascular outcomes and antihypertensive drug treatment in older women. JAMA, 2004 Dec 15; 292(23): 2849-2859.

Author’s Contact Info

Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD
Professor and Division Head, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
Principal Investigator, Women’s Health Initiative
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Belfer Building, Room 1312
Bronx, NY 10461
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Blood Pressure

• Blood Pressure Drugs

• Blood Pressure Drugs INCREASED Death in Older women

• Potassium