Hi, I’m Tonya, and most people call me Dr. Tonya. I work as a clinical scientist and as a kidney and live transplant coordinator.
In addition, I help patients who visit the clinics get good blood pressure control; I do research in the clinic to try to answer important questions about high blood pressure management.
My research has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH), Veteran Administration, and the University of Alabam at Birmingham.
Thank you so much for visiting! Hypertension Resistant to Treatment is for people with high blood pressure to learn what everybody ought to know about hypertension; then, you can take action to get good blood pressures and live a healthy life without worrying about your blood pressure.
Stick with me so I can show you how to get and maintain good blood pressures.
If you are not on medication, I will show you step by step how to lower your blood pressure naturally: so, you can delay or eliminate the need for blood pressure medication.
If you are taking medication, I will show you step-by-step how to get your doctor to reduce the amount of blood pressure medication you are taking.
No matter what, I will tell you everything you need to know to have good blood pressure; then, you can save time, money on doctor visits and medication, and create your happy, healthy life!
At Hypertension Resistant to Treatment, you will get knowledge, training, resources, and support so you can live free from high blood pressure and complications.
My Story
After about ten years of conducting hypertension research, I realized some fascinating conclusions. Generally, I found that people need knowledge, training, and support for good blood pressure control.
More specifically, I found that the average person goes through several stages when told they have elevated or severe blood pressure.
Stages of Dealing with High Blood Pressure
The process of dealing with high blood pressure is called stages of change. The Stages of change were described by Prochaska & Diclememente in 1983.
Stage 1 of Having High Blood Pressure
Not ready to change. Instead, you may be reacting to the news that your blood pressure is high. Unfortunately, your reaction may elevate your blood pressure even more. Most people who are told they have high blood pressure are in this stage.
Don’t see any reason to do anything about your high blood pressure because you feel fine. Therefore, you are not thinking about improving your diet or exercise, nor are you thinking about taking any blood pressure medication.
In denial that the reading is accurate and may come up with some reasons to support why your blood pressure is elevated or severe.
So, you think your blood pressure is not really elevated or severe. You believe you are stressed, anxious, rushed, ate some salted food, or something else. Those are some of the reasons you might think are causing your high blood pressure.
This stage is a normal and common response to try to protect yourself; that is the case until you can process the fact that your blood pressure is high.
Stage 2 of Having High Blood Pressure
Considering the benefits and disadvantages of being on blood pressure medication.
You may feel angry, frustrated, or guilty once you realize that your blood pressure is really elevated or severe. You feel bad for eating all that salted foods you or for gaining so much weight over the years.
Depression might occur when you know that you have to take blood pressure medicine for the rest of your life. Most people feel that taking blood pressure medicine will negatively change their life forever. Usually, this does not mean that you are mentally ill and need an antidepressant.
Stage 3 of Having High Blood Pressure
Accepted the fact that your blood pressure is elevated or severe, and you feel that you cannot change it; so, you are preparing to start the treatment for your high blood pressure. You still may feel angry, frustrated, guilty, and/or depressed. It’s important to get support during these stages of change to cope with your high blood pressure.
**Research has shown that up to 50% of people on blood pressure medication are in stages 1, 2, or 3 as indicated by medication nonadherence. Prochaska and Diclememente (1983) have found that about 80% of smokers were in stage 1. American Phycologists refer to Prochaska and Diclememente initial study frequently to understand behavior change.
Stage 4 of Having High Blood Pressure
Already accepted the fact that your blood pressure is elevated or severe, and you feel that you can take action. You are on a low salt diet, exercising, and/or taking blood pressure medication as prescribed.
Stage 5 of Having High Blood Pressure
Use to the fact that you have hypertension, and you feel that you can continue to take action. You are on a low salt diet, exercising, and/or taking blood pressure medication as prescribed routinely without fail.
Taking Action to Control Blood Pressure
Although the stages of having high blood pressure were useful, I found that the stages were not the full story. I started to wonder if we were missing important opportunities.
In my experience as a clinical scientist and as a postdoctoral scholar, I found that the patient’s health literacy, medication regimen, and not psychosocial issues or poor medication adherence were responsible for much of the uncontrolled blood pressure control.
Hypertension Resistant to Treatment is the result of my relentless attempt to tell you everything you ought to know about high blood pressure, train you about what to do to manage your blood pressure, and support you while you work with your health provider to obtain good blood pressure control.
At Hypertension Resistant to Treatment, I will share all of my knowledge, training, and resources with you. I understand these feelings and know how to get you through the process to take action so you, too, can have good blood pressures.
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More About:
I am a clinical research scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, where I hold various positions. I spent the past decade studying home blood pressure monitoring, medication adherence, psychosocial factors, and blood pressure control.
I have six first author publications in scientific journals and I have collaborated with her colleagues to published studies with the finding from the landmark Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention (SPRINT) Trial. My research studies can be read here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=TONYA+BREAUX-SHROPSHIRE.