Paul was 42 years old when he was diagnosed with hypertension during a routine checkup.
The diagnosis came as a surprise, given that he had exercised regularly since his teens, and had always thought of himself as healthy.
It’s probably genetic
“It’s probably genetic,” his doctor suggested, as he wrote a prescription for antihypertensive medication, reminding Paul that his dad had also been diagnosed with hypertension.
While it made sense to Paul that he could have a genetic predisposition to developing high blood pressure, he was reluctant to accept the implication that, other than taking medication, there was nothing he could do.
Still, he knew that hypertension was serious—that having the condition increases the likelihood of heart attack and stroke—so he filled his prescription on his way out of the clinic.
He would take the medication as a short-term bandaid, he told himself, until he could figure out what was causing his hypertension, other than the genetic predisposition hypothesis, which seemed incomplete.
Kitchen sink
For three years, Paul tried nearly everything: exercising more, eating less, meditating, using a sauna, and getting to bed early, among other experiments.
Nothing seemed to work.
And the medication, it turned out, was only slightly effective at lowering his blood pressure, causing him further frustration.
Enter Quantify
Realizing that he needed a better system for investigating the causes of his hypertension, Paul eventually found Quantify.
After getting matched with a certified health coach specialized in cardiovascular health, completing a health questionnaire, and meeting with his health coach over video chat, a metals test was ordered for Paul, to evaluate metal toxicity and mineral imbalance.
Thrilled to avoid yet another fluorescent-lit waiting room, Paul was able to easily conduct the test from home, by collecting a urine sample in a test kit, and shipping to a lab for analysis.
Magnesium deficiency
A few weeks later, he received his test results, and his health coach explained that, while his results showed no significant exposure to aluminum, lead, mercury, and other toxic metals that can contribute to hypertension, they did show that he was severely deficient in magnesium, a critically important mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health.1 2
To address magnesium deficiency, his health coach continued, Paul would need to increase consumption of foods high in magnesium, such as arugula, pumpkin seeds, and cacao, and supplement with magnesium malate, a particularly bioavailable form of magnesium, as well as vitamin D3 and vitamin K2, to further support magnesium absorption.3
Recovery
While the three years that Paul had spent trying to figure out the causes of his hypertension didn’t produce the results he’d hoped for, the lifestyle habits he cultivated had certainly built a foundation from which his recovery could progress more quickly.
Following his health plan closely, over the course of a few months, as he repleted his magnesium, Paul’s blood pressure gradually lowered to a normal level.
After monitoring his progress, at a certain point, Paul’s doctor felt comfortable cutting the dose in half, and, ultimately, allowed him to stop taking the medication entirely, citing that it was no longer warranted.
“I guess there’s a first for everything,” his doctor marveled, adding that he had never taken anyone off their blood pressure medication.
“I guess so,” replied Paul, silently wondering how many patients had been convinced that their hypertension is genetic, and that they can’t do anything about it.