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Why Worry About

High Blood
Pressure?

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

The Douglass Report
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600R012058_BloodPressure:600R012058_BloodPressure 6/3/08 1:48 PM
Why Worry About High Blood Pressure?
For more than three decades now, I’ve been telling any-
one who’ll listen that high blood pressure DOESN’T
CAUSE HEART DISEASE.
Yes, you read that right. Despite what “unbiased” con-
ventional medicine—which generates millions from the
treatment of hypertension—maintains, evidence showing a
conclusive linear link between elevated blood pressure and
the incidence of heart disease is almost nonexistent. In fact,
the data from most studies on the subject suggest that hyper-
tension is a symptom of cardiovascular disease, not its cause.
Just about everyone in the medical community agrees
that cardiovascular disease is due in large part to a buildup
of plaque in the arteries, reducing their diameter—which in
turn causes the blood that flows through them to increase in
pressure. Here’s a good analogy: When you turn on the
spigot outside your house, the water shooting out of your
garden hose squirts 30 feet or more. Why? Because it’s
under a lot of pressure after being forced into a tiny one-
inch hose. But what would happen if that hose were, say, a
foot in diameter? The exact same volume of water would
slosh out at a very low pressure.
It’s the same way with your heart and arteries. Your
blood pressure increases in response to arterial constric-
tion—it doesn’t cause the constriction. Elevating the blood’s
pressure is your heart’s way of compensating for clogged
up “hoses” to make sure your organs, brain, and extremities
are adequately supplied with blood. When you look at it
this way, it just doesn’t make sense to try to artificially
lower your blood pressure by using expensive, potentially
harmful prescription drugs.
Everything you ever
wanted to know about
blood pressure drugs—
and how to avoid them
I met Bobby when I was about 35 years old. It was
love at first sight. She was a redhead and weighed
about 100 pounds. We remained friends through the
1
Page 1
years—marriages, divorces, children, and now grand-
children. The last time we saw each other, about 10
years ago, she looked pretty much the same—still tiny and
beautiful—but she had a “medical problem”: high blood
pressure.
But because of her physiology, Bobby couldn’t tol-
erate the powerful anti-hypertensive drugs. So she,
unwillingly, became an interesting experiment in:
“What happens to a patient with seriously elevated
blood pressure if you do nothing?”
I checked in with her recently, and she’s doing just
fine. She’s “50-something” (I think close to 60, but I
didn’t dare ask) and still has very high blood pressure.
So if someone like Bobby can do just fine without
medication for over a decade, why are the health
“experts” out there suddenly so hot and bothered to get
even more people on them by lowering the already
ridiculous hypertension guidelines?
I think that most doctors are forgetting (if they ever
knew at all) that hypertension isn’t actually a disease in
itself—it’s only a symptom of some other malfunction
in your body. It’s possible that the elevated blood pres-
sure is a protective effect enabling the heart to get the
blood to all the tissues in spite of the disease, whatever
that may be. But since we still haven’t figured out what
that disease is, most physicians just throw drugs at the
symptom and consider the problem solved when the
high blood pressure goes down.
The REAL problem here is that just because the
drugs have made the hypertension go away, it doesn’t
mean you’re “cured”—or even safe, for that matter.
People taking blood pressure lowering medications
inevitably feel worse on the drugs. You would think this
would signal to the doctor that he’s making the patient
worse and that the pressure is elevated for some good
physiological reason. But most likely, he’ll just contin-
ue to prescribe away.
There are four major types of drugs prescribed to
lower blood pressure: diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE
600R012058_BloodPressure:600R012058_BloodPressure 6/3/08 1:48 PM
The Douglass Report
inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers. Remember, these
drugs are only masking one symptom of an unknown dis-
ease. Anti-hypertensives have no healing properties.
Why so many medications for the same health
problem? Because drug companies make most of their
money via the exclusive patent rights to a drug—which
they hold for 20 years from the time they first start
developing it. After that, anyone can market a generic
version of the same drug and the original manufacturer
loses its monopoly on that section of the market.
What that means is this: If every drug company can
patent a new and different hypertension drug (or if the
same company can do it three or four times in a row),
they ensure themselves of total market dominance and
control over the drug’s price—at least temporarily. It’s
simple capitalism. There’s just one small problem: Are
the new drugs any better than their predecessors—or
just different enough to warrant a separate patent?
It’s a good question—one that more doctors should
be asking their drug reps. When it comes to blood pres-
sure medications in particular, the evidence is inconclu-
sive. The truth is, all you may really need to fight cardio-
vascular disease is a diet rich in omega-3 fats, lean on
carbs and trans-fats, and drinking water that’s devoid of
chlorine (which causes microscopic arterial tears that trap
and hold cholesterol, boosting blood pressure). And the
fluoride in the water is not exactly Vitamin F. It is proba-
bly a major factor in cardiovascular disease.
Let’s take a closer look at those four major blood
pressure drugs.
1. Diuretics
The diuretics are basically dehydrators; that is, they
remove fluid from your body by way of the kidneys. This
may cause a drop in blood pressure, but the first question
that should come to mind is: “If I don’t have edema
(swelling), am I going to accomplish anything by draining
my body fluids?” The answer is no. Those fluids contain
many vital minerals––such as potassium, sodium, magne-
sium, and calcium––and getting rid of them will cause elec-
trolyte imbalances (loss of minerals) in your body.
But electrolyte imbalance is only the beginning.
Other problems caused by diuretics include cardiac
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arrhythmias (irregular heart beats), gout, kidney damage
or failure, uremia, hyperglycemia leading to diabetes,
abnormal cholesterol, anemia, photosensitivity, indiges-
tion, headaches, visual disturbances, and impotence.
And the diuretics are the least toxic type of hyper-
tension drug treatment.
2. Beta blockers
Then there are the beta blockers. Beta blockers
reduce the force of the heart’s contractions. Basically,
the heartbeat slows in reaction to the drug, and that
lowers your blood pressure. So keep in mind that
you’re dealing with a dangerous cardiac drug, not “just
blood pressure medicine.” Your doctor probably didn’t
dwell on this significant fact, but you need to know the
truth. He didn’t necessarily lie to you: He just didn’t
want to spend too much time on unpleasant things that
might have caused you to toss the pills in the trash—or
not get the prescription filled at all.
OK, class—pop quiz: Being cardioactive drugs, what
might you expect in the way of side effects from beta
blockers? You’ve got it—signs of serious heart disease. You
may experience any or all of the following symptoms: con-
gestive heart failure, which will lead to pulmonary edema, a
good old-fashioned heart attack, or arrhythmia. And, of
course, all of these irregularities can be fatal.
Beyond the heart, there are many other possibilities
for mischief. There’s also a strong possibility that you’ll
experience a stroke, which could cause partial paralysis or
death. And asthmatics should never take beta blockers,
since they may trigger life-threatening airway spasms.
All this is a mere sampling of the possible side
effects that you may experience from these powerful
cardiotoxic compounds.
3. ACE inhibitors
ACE inhibitors wage a sort of chemical warfare
attack in your body. They lower blood pressure by
blocking the release of angiotensin. Your body releases
this molecule in order to raise your blood pressure. As I
mentioned earlier, the body’s chemical regulatory
mechanisms do things for a reason. Usually high blood
pressure is a protective mechanism designed to main-
600R012058_BloodPressure:600R012058_BloodPressure 6/3/08
tain your “homeostasis,” your biological balance in the
turbulent world inside your body. The ACE inhibitors
lower blood pressure by counteracting this blood pres-
sure raising agent. Your doctor thinks this is a good
thing. I think it is a bad thing.
4. Calcium channel blockers
But calcium channel blockers are, by far, the worst
of the bunch. And, of course, they’re among the most
widely prescribed drugs in the modern world. Calcium
channel blockers (CCBs) block the movement of calci-
um across cell membranes. This suppresses muscular
contraction, which dilates the arteries and reduces resis-
tance to blood flow. The doctor sees a reduction in your
blood pressure and proclaims it medical magic: You
take the little pills, your pressure comes down, and the
doctor is a genius.
I wish it were that simple, but what else happens?
Your heart feels like a fish flopping around in a
bucket. You feel like you are going to faint, especially
if you stand up quickly. You figure you can live with
that—you just won’t stand up quickly. But if going
from sitting to standing can cause you to faint, how
about going from flat on your back to standing?
This sudden drop in blood pressure can cause a
stroke, and off to the emergency ward you go. But the
calcium channel blocker won’t take any of the blame:
After all, your doctor prescribed it to you to prevent a
stroke brought on by high blood pressure.
The “cure” that causes 85,000
unnecessary deaths each year
These killers can also cause heart failure, heart
attacks, gastrointestinal bleeding, liver and kidney dam-
age, and reduced white blood cell count (causing you to
be more susceptible to infections). And another com-
mon—and deadly—possibility is their interaction with
other drugs, which can lead to any of the above disasters.
The most important study to date on calcium chan-
nel blockers is the Wake Forest University School of
Medicine research that was presented at an internation-
al cardiology meeting in Amsterdam in 2000.
According to the report, these very popular (with
1:48 PM Page 3
Why Worry About High Blood Pressure?
the doctors anyway) drugs may be responsible for an
excessive number of heart attacks and cases of heart
failure. It appears that they don’t even prevent the car-
diovascular complications of high blood pressure. In
fact, they cause complications. Calcium channel block-
ers lead to about 40,000 “unnecessary or excess” heart
attacks in the U.S. each year and about 85,000 such
disasters worldwide, said Marco Pahor, M.D., the pro-
fessor of medicine at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine who headed the research project.
Plus, the annual cost of high blood pressure treatment
with these drugs, which are taken daily, ranges from $740
to $990—much more expensive than treatment with a
diuretic (described above) that costs only about $60 a year.
But cost is not the major issue. The real question is
whether the treatment is worse than the disease. Dr.
Pahor’s research team found that people taking long-
acting calcium channel blockers had a “27 percent
higher risk of heart attack and 26 percent higher risk of
congestive heart failure than did persons taking diuret-
ics, beta blockers, or ACE inhibitors.”
And the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
has reported that these drugs cause cancer in test ani-
mals. Would you rather have elevated blood pressure,
which has not been proven to cause any of the prob-
lems for which it is blamed, or cancer, a heart attack,
kidney or liver disease (or both), or a stroke?
With all of the problems associated with them, it
seems almost criminal that the CCBs are the most popu-
lar hypertension “treatment.” But the reason they’re the
most popular is that they’re the most promoted. That’s
not science, of course; that’s business. That’s just the way
it is. If your doctor offers you one of these little killers,
give him a copy of this report and tell him you will think
about it. Don’t plan on going back, because (1) he proba-
bly won’t read it, and (2) if he does read it, he will not
want to waste his time on a kook like you. If you’re
already taking a CCB, you must insist to your doctor that
you be removed from the drug. But do not stop on your
own. Ironically, that could be fatal too.
Here’s what to do:
It’s easy for me to play the role of “Dr. No,” but I
have to do better than that. So, what else can you do?
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600R012058_BloodPressure:600R012058_BloodPressure 6/3/08 1:48 PM
The Douglass Report
There are a number of safe approaches you can try.
(1) My first choice is homeopathy. But don’t run
down to the pharmacy or health food store and buy the
little bottles of drops or pills that your neighbor recom-
mended—you’ll only be disappointed. Homeopathy is a
complex science and requires the services of an M.D.
who knows pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and
all the other “ologies” (a traditional medical education
is not all bad, you know). Contact the National Center for
Homeopathy at (703)548-7790 or www.homeopathic.org
for the name of a qualified homeopath in your area.
(2) Acupuncture may be effective, and there are lots
of practitioners who perform it across the country. To
find one near you, contact the American Association of
Oriental Medicine by calling (866)455-7999 or visiting
www.aaom.org.
(3) I do have to add that if you have disastrously high
blood pressure, say 180 over 110, you are in serious trou-
ble and will have to try the drugs. But “malignant hyper-
tension,” as it is called, is not common and your garden-
variety hypertension will not metamorphose into it—and
don’t let any doctor convince you otherwise.
(4) There are many other approaches, but one I
must mention is simply to do nothing. I know this
sounds radical, but you would be surprised how many
people do exactly that with great success. Consider
Bobby, for example: She’s been living a normal, happy,
and—dare I say—healthy life with hypertension (and
without drugs) for years.
So if you try homeopathy, acupuncture, or any other
non-drug approach without success, I recommend that
you follow Bobby’s lead and leave well enough alone.
Salt restriction is more
than unnecessary—it’s
downright dangerous
Salt restriction in cases of hypertension has become
one of those “pearls of wisdom” that no one questions.
But the truth of the matter is that this little gem is pure
junk medicine. Severe salt restriction in people—sick
or well—is a dangerous practice and may actually
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cause more problems than it solves.
Only about one-third of hypertension patients are
sensitive to salt and have been found to have low levels
of the kidney hormone renin, which regulates blood
pressure. In these people, reducing salt intake raises
levels of renin. So some, but not drastic, salt restriction
may improve control of hypertension in these patients.
However, for the remaining majority of people
struggling with hypertension who are not salt-sensitive
and actually have high renin levels, restricting salt
intake has the opposite effect and may cause blood
pressure levels to become even more elevated.
Bottom line: Lowering blood pressure by salt
restriction is inconsistent and unreliable. But it gets
worse: Studies have shown that salt restriction may be
linked to organ damage. If the heart and kidneys are
damaged by hyponatremia (low blood sodium), you
may make the hypertension worse. Salt restriction in
the summer months could lead to heat exhaustion, a
severe mineral disturbance that causes fainting and
sometimes a stroke or heart attack.
Salt is an essential nutrient, just like vitamin A, the
fatty acids, and cholesterol. Your body needs adequate
amounts of it to survive. Most mainstream physicians
think of sodium as if it were some sort of poison. How-
ever, sodium works closely with other important nutri-
ents like calcium and potassium to keep the body func-
tioning at optimal levels.
Toxic table salt? Read this before you
start sprinkling it on
It’s important that you get the highest quality of salt
in your diet—just as with any nutrient. So let’s talk a
bit about which salt is best for you and what the food
companies have done to make commercial salt a toxin
rather than a nutrient.
Not all salts are created equal. Just as “Sweet ‘n
Low” is not sugar, your typical table salt is not salt—or
at least not salt that’s made for human consumption.
Table salt––as you know it––is an industrial product
made for the chemical industry, not your table. Over 90
percent of industrial grade salt goes to the chemical
600R012058_BloodPressure:600R012058_BloodPressure 6/3/08
industry and the rest goes to the grocery store and your
dinner table. Refined salt has been stripped of its natur-
al nutrients. It contains additives like ferrocyanide and
silicates (which are basically sand) to prevent the salt
from mixing with water and caking, so that it will pour
easily. But if the salt won’t mix with water and your
body is made up of 70 percent water, it won’t mix in
your body either.
The only salt worthy of your consideration is sea salt
from a clean seabed. Don’t be fooled: If the label says
“U.S. crude salt,” that doesn’t mean the contents are pure.
Crude salt is unrefined industrial salt. It may be unrefined,
but it has been mined from a source that is most likely
heavily contaminated with heavy metals. Sea salt is the
only option. For a sea salt to be worthy of your family, it
must meet all three of the following criteria:
• The salt will not be the snow-white variety you’re
used to. It should be light grey in color. After the
salt sits for a time, the color at the bottom of the
container will be darker. If the salt is crystal white,
it may still be sea salt, but it has been treated and
fractionated to rid it of impurities and, at the same
time, this rids it of essential minerals. If it is not
light grey, it is not a nutritious salt.
• Legitimate sea salt is not dry to the touch. It
should be a little soggy. The moistness is due to
the presence of magnesium salts. When kept in
cool storage, it doesn’t dry out.
• The crystals, under magnification, are small and cubic.
Finding pure sea salt can be rather difficult. There
are plenty of products out there claiming to be “pure,”
but, unfortunately, they have almost all been tampered
with to some degree. I have only been able to find one
source that I trust—The Grain and Salt Society in
Ashville, North Carolina. I don’t get a dime for recom-
mending them, but I’ve been so pleased with their sea
salt that I’m glad to do it.
For more information on the products offered by
the Grain and Salt Society, call them at (800)867-7258,
or visit them on-line at www.celtic-seasalt.com.
Be sure to store the salt in a cool, dry place in an
airtight container to prevent it from drying out. You
1:48 PM Page 5
Why Worry About High Blood Pressure?
should also mix the salt every few days. When natural
sea salt sits, the moisture settles to the bottom of the
container and the salt will clump.
Low Blood Pressure
Can have a Big Impact
on Your Health
Aside from the fact that there’s no evidence that
high blood pressure causes heart disease (it’s often a
response to the condition, but not its cause), and the
fact that salt intake is only remotely correlated to
hypertension, there’s one more widespread myth about
blood pressure that most people—and their doctors—
don’t seem to know about:
Your blood pressure can be TOO LOW (115/75 is
borderline, if you ask me).
Research from Israel shows just how big an impact
low blood pressure can have on your health—especially
upon those of us who are getting up in years. A Ben
Gurion University study showed that patients over 70
with what modern standards call “mild hypertension”
actually thought more clearly and creatively than those
with lower blood pressure.
Both men and women in the nearly 500-subject
study whose blood pressure was deemed high enough
to warrant treatment with prescription drugs—and also
those with clinically uncontrolled (untreated) hyperten-
sion—performed significantly better on tests of cognitive
function, memory, concentration, and visual retention.
Those with “normal” blood pressure tested the
worst of all three groups in the study.
Similar studies in younger test populations yielded
no difference in performance based on blood pressure.
What’s this mean? It means that physicians need to bal-
ance their efforts to control what they perceive as risk
factors for heart disease (namely, BP over 115/75) with
patients’ quality-of-life concerns—like mental sharp-
ness and creativity.
In other words, they should stop meddling with the
body and mind and let it find its own equilibrium.
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