"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Anyone here on high blood pressure meds?

I was just told today that I need them. My blood pressure has been steadily going up for a few months. I made a Dr. appointment last week when I registered 160/110.

Doc did some tests and said based on my fitness, weight, and diet, there weren't many non pharmaceutical options. Anyway, so now I am supposed to take meds everyday.

He did listen to my concerns about training and racing, so I'm going to take a drug that supposedly won't have and effect on VO2 max or heartrate throttling.

Pretty bummed out by this. :(

The benefits far outweigh the risks. If you are consistently running a BP that high, it WILL catch up with you. I've taken medication for my htn for years, and have had no adverse effects. Beats the hell out of kidney failure, or a stroke, or an MI.

Yeah, this is a good thing, not a bad thing, given your current condition. I am on Lisinopril and suffering no side effects. I just wrapped up my best year of bike racing ever and recently upgraded. At 38, I'm much stronger than I was in my 20s, and I'm getting stronger by the month.

Substructure also ended up on Lisinopril and is doing really well racing.

Here's a thread on the subject, that I bump and update every so often http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=357783

Good luck with this, and be happy there are drugs to treat this.

I was just told today that I need them. My blood pressure has been steadily going up for a few months. I made a Dr. appointment last week when I registered 160/110.

Doc did some tests and said based on my fitness, weight, and diet, there weren't many non pharmaceutical options. Anyway, so now I am supposed to take meds everyday.

He did listen to my concerns about training and racing, so I'm going to take a drug that supposedly won't have and effect on VO2 max or heartrate throttling.

Pretty bummed out by this. :(

Relax. Modern blood pressure medications are amazingly effective, cheap, and have no side effects for most patients. The side effects that do exist for something like Lisinopril (which I am taking, like WR and sub) are very mild, if you even experience them. 20 mg of Lisinopril, and my blood pressure is down from as much as 160/100 to 110/80 or so. Hypertension these days is one of the least scary diagnoses you can get, IF you deal with it early. The meds won't effect your performance, so you've got nothing to worry about.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I guess it is just a part of getting old.

The medication that I am taking as of this morning is Benicar. Looking it up on WebMD, its a bit different than Lisinopril, but basically works at the same physiological point, so hopefully I won't be having any performance issues.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I guess it is just a part of getting old.

The medication that I am taking as of this morning is Benicar. Looking it up on WebMD, its a bit different than Lisinopril, but basically works at the same physiological point, so hopefully I won't be having any performance issues.

I take Benicar, also. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about as far as side effects or performance loss. I tried Lisinopiril, but got the dreaded ACE inhibitor cough. Coughed so much, to the point that I didn't even realize I was coughing. Nothing like that with Benicar, or Avapro, which I've also taken.

are BP medicines anything like blood thinners? Any idea what taking aspirin for a prolonged time will do to me?

are BP medicines anything like blood thinners? Any idea what taking aspirin for a prolonged time will do to me?

Nothing like each other whatsoever. Science is out on aspirin. However studies show that a baby aspirin a day does benefit in many different ways, not just in reducing the risk of a heart attack. And to add to the conversation. I've been on Caduet (which is Norvasc and Lipitor in a single pill) for a few years and see no affects whatsoever. I also took Diovan HCT which was a diferent kind of BP med and a diuretic together. Also no ill effects. I did, however, time the diuretic with my workouts. Usually taking it after the workout.

Might talk to your doctor about that one though.


A couple supporting (and not so supporting) links:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116100758.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111202625.htm

Wow, thanks for the thread. I have borderline blood pressure issues, and was always concerned about the meds.

Well yesterday was my first day on the meds, and I raced in the local Tuesday series at the racetrack. I had a top-10 finish, which may not be that impressive since there were 25 riders in the Master's category.

But at least it shows that so far there don't seem to be major performance degradation. We'll see as time progresses.

Wow, thanks for the thread. I have borderline blood pressure issues, and was always concerned about the meds.

Me too. I'm watching this thread ;)

I'm on Norvasc 10mg. No adverse affects noted yet. Here's a decent article on Managing Hypertension in Athletes:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020801/445.html

I guess it is just a part of getting old.

Unfortunately, being old is not necessarily a prerequisite to primary hypertension. :(

I am 24 and on Diovan HCT (with the hydrochlorathiazide diuretic) and toprolol (beta blocker) for what was originally mid 140s/ mid to high 90s. No ill effects that I know, but I have been on them since I started cycling so who knows. The beta blocker def lowers my HR but only down to the 40-50 range, and the HCT makes you pee a bit more, but I go less than normal anyway even with the medication.

HDL/LDL ratio was in the excellent range
total cholesterol and triglycerides were highish but in normal range
and I had a kidney and heart ultrasound when I was initially starting meds, but they found nothing bad...all in all, no reason for my BP to be high but it is.

HDL/LDL ratio was in the excellent range
total cholesterol and triglycerides were highish but in normal range
and I had a kidney and heart ultrasound when I was initially starting meds, but they found nothing bad...all in all, no reason for my BP to be high but it is.

Yep, this is basically my situation, too. I'm 23, in excellent health - good cholesterol ratio, low total cholesterol, got the tests, all that. The difference is that my high BP might be caused by renal scarring caused by swelling and infections of my kidney that happened up until I was 16 (long story, but I had surgery to correct the cause). Then again, the ultrasounds weren't exactly conclusive, from what I hear. Sometimes nature just deals you a bum hand. Fortunately, as I said before, high blood pressure these days isn't the big deal it used to be. The meds are just amazingly effective, safe and cheap. If you find the problem early and start treating it, hypertension is nothing to really to worry about.

I'm on one as well, no effects that I can tell.

40mg lisinopril, although im old and fat. since some of the faster, older guys are on lisinopril, maybe its the drug and ill jump from a 5 to a 3 this year.

Two week update: My blood pressure is averaging 110/80 and so far there's been no real discernable difference in performance. Ran the local Tuesday night series again last night and was able to push the front a few times. My heartrate stats were 184 max, 162 avg for 55 minutes, which is right in line with stats from prior to medication.

The only thing I'm noticing (although it may be psychosomatic) is that I think that I'm tending to cramp my quads and calves more often during training and racing.

I take 20mg lisinopril. Only side effect is that my urine now glows a radioactive green.