Full disclosure-I am a doctor, just primary care and hearts are not in my area of expertise and I am keen to hear other ST's experience who have needed to be started on anti-hypertensives (and hopefully DTOCE will chime in).
Background: Mid 40's, male, fit, not over weight (although a few kg's off race weight), no drinking/smoking, decent diet, moderate caffeine intake.
My GP/primary care doctor has been monitoring my blood pressure over this last year and it has consistently been elevated (systolic in the 140-160 range). I normally see her after a decent training session but it has remained elevated at most visits and I am almost certainly staring down the path of needing some pharmacological management. She is a good GP and I will almost certainly have a 24 hr BP profile done and some other tests beforehand, but 99% certain in the next 6 months I will end up on medication and once I start down that road will have be medicated for life. I will do all I can reasonably do to avoid medication but the reality is that my work/life balance is demanding and long distance triathlon is not necessarily associated with overall high heart health.
Note to others: if you have things like income protection insurance etc where the premiums and exclusions may be based on your overall health, make sure they are in order before you start things like this as you may in the future be excluded from various conditions.
So-my questions for the ST community are if you have found yourself needing to be on an anti-hypertensive, what class of drug are you on and has it had any impact or side effects on your athletic performance? I have come to triathlon later in life and still feel I am on an upward trajectory performance wise. I can't find much out there in my brief searches on what is best for people in our situation. Can't imagine a beta blocker is particularly good, not sure if ACE inhibitors, ATII inhibitors, diuretics or things like spironolactone have negative's when it comes to long distance triathlon training. Any personal experience appreciated and hopefully DTOCE might chime in.
Background: Mid 40's, male, fit, not over weight (although a few kg's off race weight), no drinking/smoking, decent diet, moderate caffeine intake.
My GP/primary care doctor has been monitoring my blood pressure over this last year and it has consistently been elevated (systolic in the 140-160 range). I normally see her after a decent training session but it has remained elevated at most visits and I am almost certainly staring down the path of needing some pharmacological management. She is a good GP and I will almost certainly have a 24 hr BP profile done and some other tests beforehand, but 99% certain in the next 6 months I will end up on medication and once I start down that road will have be medicated for life. I will do all I can reasonably do to avoid medication but the reality is that my work/life balance is demanding and long distance triathlon is not necessarily associated with overall high heart health.
Note to others: if you have things like income protection insurance etc where the premiums and exclusions may be based on your overall health, make sure they are in order before you start things like this as you may in the future be excluded from various conditions.
So-my questions for the ST community are if you have found yourself needing to be on an anti-hypertensive, what class of drug are you on and has it had any impact or side effects on your athletic performance? I have come to triathlon later in life and still feel I am on an upward trajectory performance wise. I can't find much out there in my brief searches on what is best for people in our situation. Can't imagine a beta blocker is particularly good, not sure if ACE inhibitors, ATII inhibitors, diuretics or things like spironolactone have negative's when it comes to long distance triathlon training. Any personal experience appreciated and hopefully DTOCE might chime in.