Weight loss can affect need for meds

Dear Dr. Roach: A friend was diagnosed with high blood pressure several years ago and has been on a hypertensive drug since then. However, over the past years, he has lost over 50 pounds and is no longer overweight. He works out every day. He never exercised prior to his diagnosis. He seems to be eating healthier foods now, too. Shouldn’t he be reevaluated regarding the need to continue taking his drug?

Answer:

R.I.

His doctor should be measuring his blood pressure at every visit. If the blood pressure is getting lower than his goal, the doctor should reduce the dose or even take it away completely.

However, there are some times when his doctor might want to keep the blood pressure medicine going, such as when the medicine has two beneficial effects (say, beta blockers that work for high blood pressure and migraine, or an ACE inhibitor for a person with diabetes and high blood pressure).

If your friend really wants to stop the medicine then he can talk to the doctor about a trial of lower dose or stopping the medicine.

Dear Dr. Roach: Can a weakness toward alcoholism be inherited and run through a family for generations? Or is each person a separate case, and subject to his own behavior and health career?

Answer:

N.M.G.

A family propensity to alcohol use disorder has long been known. Both environmental effects and genetic predispositions have been identified. One study on twins estimated that just over half the increased liability to alcohol use disorder is due to genetics. However, it is important to know that there isn’t an

“alcoholism gene” and that, as you say, a person’s own unique situation has a major impact on whether they will develop a problem with alcohol consumption.

There is no certainty about who will have the predisposition to develop problems with alcohol, but a person with a family history needs to be more careful than others to recognize when they are beginning to develop problem behaviors.