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Male Under 60

Interview 08

Interview 08

Age at Interview: 58
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 52
Background:

Brief outline:Discovered following GP check.

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Mentions that he had been told of an hereditary element.
Print There's probably, they decided, a hereditary element. Because my father was carried off with it. After his second stroke, it killed him. My father was a lot older then my mother he didn't have a stroke til his late sixties, the first one, he recovered more or less from then had a second massive one he lived for a while afterwards but was a complete cabbage. And there was considerable congenital heart defects amongst the males on my mother's side. Defects? My grandfather died when he was very young and in fact his youngest child was posthumous. Heart attack. Just dropped dead. How old would he be? He was in his late 30's. My mother's only brother he was only 22 when he dropped dead with a heart attack.

Explains how high blood pressure was discovered after routine check-ups.
Print My GP started checking my blood pressure at regular intervals because on two routine annual check-ups it had been high, and she found that it was consistently high. So she referred me to the [name] Hospital to a specialist who arranged for a 24 hour monitor and all kinds of alarm bells went off. But the consultant I saw at the [hospital] was very thorough, though he came up and said your blood pressure is beyond me. He said you are in that very small percentage that we call idiopathic, there is no obvious physical cause for it.

Describes the side effects of some of the treatments, particularly blurred vision.
Print There was one. It was in a green packet with white letters. Begins with a C- - - Covesil! That was a bit too clever for me. I was walking around dizzy all the time. It was too strong, even a very small dose. There was something else I took, Isinopril, I think. I couldn't see when I was taking that. My vision went very blurry. I mean I normally can read print the size of a grain of sand, but I was struggling to read the headlines in the Times.

Explains that experimenting with various treatments lead to finding a suitable one.
Print He experimented with various substitutes and various tablets. I let them get on with it - they've got plenty to do without me bleating. They know what they are doing, I haven't a clue - they could tell me and I wouldn't understand it. I would say there is no point in them wasting their time. Just put your trust in them and let them get on with it. Because of complications I couldn't have beta-blocker. I am COPD, I have had asthma since childhood so they are contra-indicated, and they tried various ACE inhibitors, some of which didn't suit me. But eventually we found out that Diltiazide and I are quite a good match. I take it the morning and about 6 o'clock in the evening. There is a reason I don't take it later, because it is a diuretic as well as a blood pressure sorter outer, if you take it just before you go to bed, you are waking every ten minutes having to trot of to go to the loo.

Describes how his diet has improved by avoiding salt and caffeine, and steaming food.
Print I have a low fat Mediterranean diet. High calcium because of the osteoporosis but apparently that also helps the blood pressure. And low salt as well. I was forever guzzling marmite on toast - I had to stop that. Food tasted a little bland at first, but what I did was get a microwave steamer, I took to steaming everything. You would be amazed at how different the most humble things taste, like a potato that has just been steamed. I love coffee but I drink decaff now. I know people say decaff is pretentious but I mean it is essential because caffeine does raise the blood pressure.

Describes his attempts to improve his diet.
Print I have had to alter my social life because it did revolve around being able to go out for a drink. I don't do that now and I don't put myself in temptations way. I had a drink to see the millennium in, there's not a problem there, but I did used to go to the pub every day, purely for social reasons. I've obviously got to take steps to give up smoking, I am aware of the dangers. I've got to change my diet slightly and sort out low fat.

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