As we grow older, the body often begins to reveal the slow build-up of long-term conditions like high blood pressure – issues that don’t always come with obvious warning signs but can quietly increase health risks over time. When these conditions are diagnosed, and doctors recommend medication, it’s not just a precaution – it’s a crucial part of managing that risk.
While adopting healthier habits like eating well, exercising, and prioritising sleep is essential, relying on lifestyle changes alone may not always be enough. In many cases, it’s the combination of consistent healthy choices and prescribed treatment that offers the most effective protection.
Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon with over 25 years of experience, is highlighting the importance of not sidelining prescribed medications – even when you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle. In an Instagram video shared on April 28, he recounts the case of a patient who relied heavily on lifestyle modifications to manage high blood pressure. Despite her efforts, those measures ultimately fell short, culminating in a serious cardiac emergency.
Can you manage hypertension through lifestyle changes?
Dr London shares the case of a patient in her mid-40s who, by all outward measures, was in excellent health. She was disciplined about her lifestyle – maintaining a strict diet, exercising consistently, and making sleep a priority. Yet, despite these healthy habits, she had one underlying issue: high blood pressure, for which she had been prescribed a low-dose medication. She was committed to managing her blood pressure through healthy lifestyle choices – a commendable approach. But the question remained: was that alone enough?
Dr London recounts, “She was determined to control her blood pressure with lifestyle choices, which is great. However, one morning she woke up with changes in her vision and a tearing pain between her shoulder blades. She went to the emergency room and was found to have dangerously high blood pressure and an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the main artery as it leaves your heart, largely due to uncontrolled hypertension or high blood pressure.”
The power of medication and healthy lifestyle
Following the cardiac emergency, the surgeon recalls rushing her into the operating theatre for an urgent procedure. She recovered remarkably well and was discharged soon after – her strong baseline health clearly working in her favour. But while her lifestyle supported her recovery, it hadn’t been enough to keep her hypertension in check.
Dr London notes, “I took her to the operating room, did an emergent operation and she did remarkably well, went home in like three days. Why? Because of her lifestyle choices, she was so resilient. But in this case, her lifestyle choices were not enough to control her blood pressure. Now, does that mean if she had increased her medications and followed a different plan that the outcome would have been different? Maybe, maybe not.”
Taking medicines is not failure
For many people, being prescribed medication for long-term conditions like high blood pressure can feel like a personal shortcoming – as though they’ve failed to manage their health through lifestyle alone. But Dr London emphasises that this mindset is misplaced. Taking medication is not a failure; it is a proactive strategy to reduce risk.
He stresses, “What you need to understand is we need to be willing to pull all of the levers that are available to us. And of course, lifestyle choices are foundational, but they’re not always adequate. And taking medications is not a failure. It’s a strategy. It’s risk reduction. It’s using all the tools we have available to protect our health for the future.”
When used alongside healthy habits, it becomes part of a comprehensive approach to protecting your heart and overall well-being. When faced with a condition that requires careful management, being open to all effective options isn’t giving up – it’s taking control.
The heart surgeon concludes, “Lifestyle choices are absolutely foundational and should be the first lever we pull. However, sometimes lifestyle choices alone aren’t enough. Taking medication doesn’t mean you have failed. This isn’t lifestyle modification versus medications. This is lifestyle modification and, when necessary, medications in tandem. It’s about figuring out what risk strategy works best for you.”
