Doctor Measuring arterial blood pressure woman patient on right arm Health care in hospital

by Paul Fassa
Health Impact News

Blood pressure medications are among Big Pharma’s continual best-selling drugs. They are continually prescribed as people get older, when their blood pressure readings go up naturally, while Big Pharma lowers blood pressure reading standards to create more hypertension cases. See:

Dr. Brownstein: Nobody Knows What Optimal Blood Pressure Values Should Be

Blood pressure drugs are a steady business that’s often disrupted with recalls.

Since November 2018 through just after the start of the New Year 2019, six blood pressure pharmaceuticals have been recalled, all for containing a carcinogenic compound known as N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) in their active ingredient valsartan.

NDEA is classified as a probable carcinogenic, a classification of group 2A, just one level below group 1, carcinogenic.

Even the corporate-sponsored mainstream news outlets have published warnings about these recalls.

Maybe it’s time to look beyond pharmaceutical drugs to manage blood pressure.

This Recent Recall was Preceded by Another Similar Recall Involving Personal Injury Claims

Valsartan was originally sold by Novartis as Diovan several years ago to reduce high blood pressure. Diovan products are not part of this recall. They made their own valsartan under their patent and didn’t rely on outside sources.

But since their valsartan patent expired, two major Asian companies, Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in China and India-based Hetero Labs, have been manufacturing valsartan and shipping it to other drug companies worldwide that package and distribute generic valsartan under their individual brands.

These two Asian companies are examples of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) companies that provide other drug companies with principal active ingredients no longer under patent restrictions. 

This makes it easier for generic brands to produce and sell their own brands of drugs using those already manufactured main active ingredients. Many so called generic blood pressure drug brands contain valsartan from the two companies mentioned above. 

Not all high blood pressure medications contain valsartan. And not all valsartan products come from the companies that produced contaminated valsartan.

But around 3 million people are on valsartan blood pressure medications. And the contaminated valsartan has been in the marketplace four years.

A similar recall earlier in 2018 had found another carcinogenic item in valsartan, also classified as 2A or probable carcinogenic, known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). In addition to its carcinogenicity, it’s also known to seriously harm the liver. 

Class action suits are already targeting the two Asian companies, and to lesser extents the companies that sold the tainted drugs, based on the earlier NDMA contamination. The suits are seeking damages involving cancer and/or liver damage from any valsartan based pharmaceutical over the last few years.

Ironically, it was the two Asian companies who had spotted both the earlier and most recent carcinogenic contaminators and ignited a chain of recalls from its downline of drug company customers. 

The FDA announces and monitors voluntary recalls, but does not enforce them. So far, this is strictly a manufacturer’s contamination issue, which is culpable under class action suits. 

Since contaminated valsartan has been in the marketplace four years, that’s enough time to create liver damage or even cancer. The lawsuit personal injury list for contaminated valsartan includes:

  • Liver cancer 
  • Kidney cancer 
  • Colorectal cancer 
  • Stomach or gastric cancer 
  • Bladder cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Liver injuries that require hospitalization

To determine if you or a loved one was using contaminated valsartan products, you can access a list of companies involved with the blood pressure drug recalls here. 

It’s advised you hang on to whatever bottles of the drug you have for evidence or inquire with your pharmacist to obtain records of which valsartan products you were given.

Canadian residents can submit claim requests to Merchant Law Group. USA residents can submit a short form request through drugwatch’s case review to determine if you qualify and be connected to a law firm involved with valsartan recall lawsuits. Or call drugwatch directly at 877-239-9641.

Blood Pressure Medications – Dangerous and Often Unnecessary

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, has been tagged the “silent killer.” It’s called that because there’s a commonly held dogmatic belief about it being dangerous when your blood pressure reads are outside certain parameters, which are currently decided by committees that usually have members with pharmaceutical industry ties.

Not all medical practitioners agree with what the one-reading-for-all standard considered “normal” blood pressure, currently at 120/80. The reading for stage 1 hypertension is now 130/80. Before this, hypertension stage 1 was called at 140/90 for persons over 55. It went even higher for people over 65.

This former blood pressure measurement standard applied to around 70 percent of those over 55 who had blood pressure numbers considered normal for their age. Now they have instantly become high blood pressure patients who should be prescribed blood pressure drugs. (Source)

Also see: 

Dr. Brownstein: New Blood Pressure Guidelines Create Millions of New Customers for Big Pharma

Blood pressure medications do have their share of side effects, some scary, some mild. But any unhealthy condition from a medication is a sign of being out of balance to invite other health issues. 

Also see:

Lowering Your Blood Pressure Using Drugs May Increase Your Risk of Death, Study Shows 

Avoid Pharmaceutical Drugs for High Blood Pressure With These Natural Solutions*

Natural herbs or plant medicines and dietary or lifestyle changes are the best ways to reverse high blood pressure safely without drug side effects.

Recent research has determined that high insulin levels from excess sugar and refined carbohydrate consumption create high blood pressure. High insulin levels create insulin resistant cells, the same metabolic dysfunction of diabetes 2 creates high blood pressure, excess sugar consumption, not salt. See:

The Great Salt-Sodium Hoax: Eating More Salt Might Actually Save Your Life

So the nearest exit from an overcrowded freeway to high blood pressure would be abandoning refined carbohydrates and increasing healthy fats from healthy sources, such as: 

  • Olives and Olive oil 
  • Coconuts, and coconut oil 
  • Butter and dairy made from raw grass-fed organic milk
  • Raw tree nuts
  • Organic pastured eggs
  • Avocados
  • Wild salmon and other wild seafood
  • Pasture raised meats (not CAFO bred livestock)
  • Unheated organic nut oils (Source)

In other words, skip the pharma meds and allow your lifestyle changes to include moving toward or into a ketogenic diet while researching natural herbs and plant foods that will balance you out of the metabolic dysfunction that creates both high blood pressure and diabetes 2.

You could also incorporate a few natural supplements to assist your blood pressure health and avoid pharmaceutical drugs. Pharma drug deaths now exceed deaths from illegal street drugs. Here are some examples of natural food or plant supplements:

The following video explains the high insulin factor behind high blood pressure, a simplicity worth repeating.

*The information contained in this article is NOT medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your physician before deciding to stop any medications.

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