More Natural Treatments for High Blood Pressure

Every now and then, we get questions from readers regarding something they have seen in their medical record, on discharge papers, or on a diagnosis sheet.

For a lot of people, their doctor does a good job of putting into ‘lay speak’ what he or she is seeing during that visit and can give a patient a good idea of diagnosis and treatment.

For many others, though, going to the doctor, clinic, or hospital is really intimidating…and not for the normal reasons you might think.

We all know that “white coat syndrome” causes a spike in blood pressure for people who don’t like seeing their health care provider. We also know that there are some of us who don’t like going to the doctor or hospital because of the secondary illnesses we may pick up.

These are well-founded fears and I do tend to see many health care providers trying to improve their patients’ experiences by overcoming some of those clinical fears, and taking germ-fighting precautions helps with the other problem.

But what about the intimidating alphabet soup and doctor-speak that tends to bubble over when providers get around each other?

A friend of mine who is a new hospital employee confided in me once that she felt really stupid in a lot of inter-departmental meetings because she didn’t understand some of the conversations that would go on around her. Her corner of the world was fundraising, as she worked for the hospital’s Foundation Board.

She wasn’t trained in healthcare…her talent was being extremely good at grant-writing. But in an effort to get more familiar with the departments that needed funding for equipment or other needs, she was blown away at how little she knew, and also how little she FELT around all that medical talk.

“I didn’t know what syncope was,” she said. Worrying that it is a bad disease, she said “So is there medicine for that? How do you test for it?” Apparently they just looked at her like, “poor little stupid new girl.”

She quickly found out from another non-clinician that syncope is loss of consciousness, or fainting, that occurs because of a drop in blood pressure or lack of blood flow to the brain. It is a symptom, not a disease.

Interactions like that were common, and she pointed out that many of the benefactors she was courting shared similar experiences, and being in the emergency room was one of the worst places to experience this.

If you have been in this situation, you likely will get a chuckle. Imagine this: you are in the emergency room because you were a little dizzy and apparently passed out. You feel better, and you are lucid, but still dizzy so they have to check you out.

Just for kicks, let’s say you are a wealthy shareholder in the hospital as well. This will add another layer of fun.

Here is a bit of the conversation that is going on around you:

EMS to RN: “We have a VIP with COPD having possible AMI, elevated BP and history of A-FIB, CAD, DVT and PH.”

MD to RN: “We need XRay stat and alert CCU that VIP is in RAD. We’ll need OR.”

Patient: “I’m right here. And I don’t know what the heck any of you are talking about. Does all that alphabet soup mean I am going to die or something?” And the patient’s blood pressure goes up MORE.

Obviously, in the Emergency Room, or ER, time is of the essence. And you would want your medical team to be able to communicate with one another quickly, efficiently, and correctly.

All of them know that the Emergency Medical Service provider really said “We have a very important person with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease having a possible Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack), elevated blood pressure, and a history of Atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary hypertension.”

That was even more of a mouthful. But from the patient’s point of view all he may have heard was “DOA” and “RIP.”

The point to all this, and it’s a point that my friend was making, is that we shouldn’t let our embarrassment over not understanding the jargon intimidate us into not being able to participate in a conversation about our health.

Her fix for whenever that happens now is, “wow…those are great acronyms that probably took a lot of time to learn and memorize. But I am in the business office and not a clinician, so can you say it the long way?”

She said her clinical co-workers (those in the laboratory, radiology, nursing departments, etc.) are really nice about slowing down and trying to be more aware of those around them when it’s a ‘mixed’ group (office workers and clinical employees). They are even making it a point in her facility to have more ‘sensitivity training’ so the medical jargon and alphabet soup don’t dominate patient conversations.

This will work for you as well, if you find that the source of your White Coat Syndrome is from feeling intimidated by the doctor’s verbiage. Asking for a paraphrase of the diagnosis and treatment will help your blood pressure, your mood, and your treatment plan compliance.

For easy-to-understand exercises to help with your high blood pressure, try my natural program today.

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

El331005