BP Med

[Zooka15]

Every time I get a health checkup, donate blood, do our wellness program at work. They all make comments of my BP, it makes me feel like theres a problem. Does slightly higher than normal BP have a influence on erection quality?

 

[GA8314]

GA8314 - I stand corrected.

My understanding was in relation to Propranolol / Inderal, which I've actually used for public speaking (stage fright). Many performers use it for this reason. They block the sympathetic (fight or flight) response.

CVS has a good explanation of the different types. http://cvpharmacology.com/cardioinhibitory/beta-blockers

Again, thanks for the clarification.

Also - reading up on Losartan too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losartan
It's a selective Angiotensin II type 1 inhibitor.

There is a warning under mechanism of action section related to potassium, so pay attention to that too. "Because losartan can cause hyperkalemia, individuals should not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes containing potassium without appropriate monitoring by a physician.[SUP][7]"

[/SUP]

John, no problem man. Propranolol is great for public speaking. I'd only caution people naive to the drug to first have a baseline EKG making sure there are no contraindications that they may not know about such as higher grade AV blocks or even just bradycardia. THEN, titrate slowly to see how you respond. As you mentioned, some people can get really sleepy from it, while others can tolerate a higher dose.

The ACEI's/ARB's can cause some mild hyperkalemia because of their upstream, indirect, blockage of Aldosterone which resorbs Na+ and dumps K+ in the kidneys. So, those drugs can have the opposite effect.

 

[GA8314]

Every time I get a health checkup, donate blood, do our wellness program at work. They all make comments of my BP, it makes me feel like theres a problem. Does slightly higher than normal BP have a influence on erection quality?

Zooka15, chronic hypertension can cause damage to ALL blood vessels, leading to them hardening. So, yes, it can be an issue. It's why I'm a big fan of controlling BP even though many meds have side effects. But, USUALLY, people can find proper BP meds which they tolerate quite well. Again, it may just take some patience and working with your Dr.

 

[GA8314]

I have no proof of this, and I'm sure smoking had a LOT to do with it, but my thoughts are that poorly controlled hypertension was a primary cause of THIN, otherwise healthy LOOKING, men in the 1950's/60's having a pretty high incidence of heart attacks. You know, the 50 year old dudes having all those MI's back then which was then blamed (by Ansel Keys) on dietary cholesterol......

Again, they smoked a lot more, but had way less visceral fat as evidenced by their weight/BMI, and overall body habiti.