I agree with the top post as we should all keep our bp as low as possible. It's called the silent killer for a reason. But I don't agree that 138/68 means someone should automatically be put on strong bp medication. The pulse pressure is high but that is not that bad. Many people look at drugs too soon and they pop pills for absolutely everything.
If 138/68 is before using aas it's not good as on cycle it could be much higher so he would be smart to use something his doctor recommends. If he is 138/68 on cycle then he could probably lower it with cardio and diet. I don't disagree certain drugs can be very beneficial but many use them before they are needed. Some will argue it's best to make sure bp doesn't rise and to keep it low and I don't disagree. Just do whatever makes you feel safer as nothuman posted.
I would agree when it comes to the vast majority of pharma drugs out there (statins for instance), but there is an ARB called Telmisartan and a beta blocker called Nebivolol that are incredibly safe and actually heart healthy, which is something you don't offer hear with a prescription drug. So being that the downside of taking those specific drugs is minimal while helping a great deal, I take them myself.
Telmisartan
Best Drug To Treat Hypertension | Life Extension
And here is a good write up on Nebivolol:
"I am one of those individuals that will start retaining water on just 2ius per day. I came across this article in another group and decided to give it a try at 2.5mg twice per day. I am now up to 4 ius per day with no water retention. I just wanted to share this i case it may help someone else since I have learned so much from this board over the years.
Nebivolol – the ultimate antihypertensive drug that all users should consider
As we know, anabolic hormones alter the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system causing potential changes in salt balance, water retention, blood volume, then subsequently hypertension, LVH and kidney damage.
Coupled with changes in LDL and HDL ratio, not really a pleasant environment for your heart, arteries, circulation.
1. Standard beta blockers causes major alterations in insulin sensitivity and lipid mobilisation. Resulting in type 2 diabetes, and therefore fatloss becoming impossible
2. Angiotensin II receptor antagonist and ACE inhibitors lower plasma noradrenaline levels. Not exactly a good thing when you need this to increase for optimal CNS engagement (strength), fat loss, and energy.
I’ve looked in to all these other classes of drugs used to treat hypertension (except diuretics), and they all have side effects that are not exactly ideal. Generally, they don’t target the core issue, in relation to hormone use, this being alterations in the system I mentioned above. Instead they increase Renin and Aldosterone as a compensatory mechanism.
Here comes Nebivolol. A cardioselective beta 1 antagonist. It is also a beta 3 agonist. Amazing. It has profound nitric oxide properties as well. It doesn’t alter exercise tolerance, it actually aids in fat loss, it doesn’t alter plasma noradrenaline levels (it just blocks noradrenaline from acting on the beta 1 receptors in the heart and kidneys); Lowers renin and aldosterone; It reverses LVH; increases glucose and lipid metabolism; increases Testosterone by 80-90%; and many more… literally void of any side effects.
“In the nebivolol group, a significant decrease in blood pressures (P < 0.001) and heart rate (P < 0.01) was seen. Nebivolol therapy also suppressed plasma renin and aldosterone concentration (P < 0.02) but increased plasma atrial natriuretic peptide levels (P < 0.03)”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/sci…/ar...6752739290238X
Angiotensin II receptor antagonist increase Renin and Aldosterone, whilst Nebivolol decreases.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/…/artic...3317111500618X
“Nebivolol is endowed with peripheral vasodilating properties mediated by the modulation of the endogenous production of nitric oxide. It does not significantly decrease airway conductance compared with atenolol and propranolol. Nebivolol does not compromise the left ventricular function, but it may increase stroke volume, and does not reduce heart inotropism during exertion”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/…/artic...43661898903875
“Nebivolol, through β3AR, is able to induce lipolysis and promote thermogenic and mitochondrial genes. The induction of lipolysis and the thermogenic program could explain the reduction of lipid droplets size”
http://journals.lww.com/…/Nebivolol_...ia__3_adrener…
“nebivolol does not alter exercise capacity significantly in healthy volunteers.”
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00051145
“Our findings in these short-term trials confirm previous reports regarding the neutral effects of nebivolol on lipid profile and carbohydrate metabolism.21,22 Recent data suggest that compared with metoprolol, nebivolol at a comparable dose improved oxidative stress and insulin sensitivity, decreased plasma soluble P-selectin, and increased adiponectin levels in hypertensive patients.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/…/j.1...009.0011…/full
“Free fatty acid, free glycerol, plasma catecholamines, beta-endorphines and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) increased before and after treatment during maximal and submaximal exercise but remained unaltered by nebivolol treatment”
“nebivolol did not negatively affect lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and substrate flow.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11607802
“Bisoprolol and nebivolol significantly increased concentration of testosterone (by 82 and 85%, respectively) and prolactin (by 77 and 83%, respectively), lowered levels of estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone, improved vascular blood flow in penile arteries, and did not worsen sexual function.”
[Level of hormones of pituitary-gonadal axis, penile blood flow and sexual function in men with... - Abstract - Europe PMC
“Nebivolol Reverses Endothelial Dysfunction in Essential Hypertension”
Nebivolol Reverses Endothelial Dysfunction in Essential Hypertension | Circulation
“Effects of nebivolol on proliferation and apoptosis of human coronary artery smooth muscle and endothelial cells”
https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascr...…/2/430/400450
“Nebivolol: A Novel Beta-Blocker with Nitric Oxide-Induced Vasodilatation”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1993984/
“Results of the present study demonstrate an inhibitory effect of nebivolol on several components of the atherosclerotic plaque which contribute to its progression. As compared to the control mice, the nebivolol-treated animals showed, along with significantly lower plaque size, a decrease in necrotic core size, collagen content, macrophage and T cell density, and activity of matrix metalloproteinases. In contrast, the drug increased the content of smooth muscle cells in the fibrous cap of the plaque.”
http://jpp.krakow.pl/…/archi…/12_13/...8_article.html
“In hypertensive patients with LVH, nebiviolol, combined with thiazide diuretics, significantly decreased LVMI. Moreover, Nebivolol was able to modify LV geometry from concentric to eccentric. Such effects were significantly higher in patients treated with nebivolol 5 mg/daily than in patients treated with ramipril 2.5 mg/daily. The clinical implication of these results is that the\ treatment with nebivolol/thiazides in hypertensive patients reduces the cardiovascular risk associated with LVH”
“Both nebivolol and ramipril reduced left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index, but the effect of nebivolol was significantly higher than ramipril. Nebivolol was also able to induce a statistically significant change in the left ventricular geometry evaluated by the relative wall thickness, a marker of cardiovascular risk. “
“Nebivolol reduces arterial stiffness and central blood pressure which have a
pathogenetic role in promoting left ventricular hypertrophy”
http://www.europeanreview.org/wp/wp-...loads/1269.pdf
“Available data suggest that nebivolol has a protective effect on left ventricular function. The drug appears to reduce preload and maintain or decrease afterload. Total peripheral vascular resistance did not increase in any study of nebivolol. Heart rate and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure are decreased, whereas stroke volume is increased and cardiac output is generally maintained, notably in patients with heart failure. Nebivolol reduced left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy.”
https://link.springer.com/…/10.2165/...199957040-0001"