You need to drop the overly-simplistic notion that "Regular Doctor" = Pill-popper who doesn't bother treating the cause of diseases and "Holistic Doctor" = Someone who treats the root cause.
Every MD in every first-world country is taught to treat the root cause of the disease, when possible, and not just to manage the symptoms. The problem is, the non-pharmaceutical cures for most conditions involve lifestyle changes that many folks won't stick to. For hypertension, regular exercise and limiting alcohol consumption is the first-line defense. If you don't believe me, here is a simplified version of the JNC 7 guidelines...the very first treatment is "lifestyle modification":
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/guidelines/phycard.pdfAnd yes, those were written by good old-fashioned, overwhelmingly "non-holistic" MDs.
1) Do we pay $1000 for the ultrasound with the "regular" doctors who of course will only continue to prescribe the same medications even after the ultrasound?
No, that would be ridiculous. You should get the ultrasound because a heart murmur is something entirely different from hypertension, and left uncorrected can cause permanent heart damage. Or it might be fairly benign...you will have to decide how to handle the risk.
2) Or do we go to the holistic cardiologist who will find the cause and try to cure the cause? BTW, we still may need an ultrasound with this option too if the doctor sees it is needed to get more research on the issue. But at least with this option I have higher hopes in finding a cause that can be helped or at least doing things naturally with no prescription side effects. This doctor can also do prescriptions if really needed.
You just told us your husband can manage his blood pressure through diet and exercise, but that he didn't stick to it. What exactly do you think the holistic doctor is going to find/tell you?
3) Or do we just keep doing it on our own to keep his blood pressure low by making sure he jogs every day, limits his beer and takes his natural concoctions?
Yes and yes...but only if he can stick to it. If not, take the pill. Get a blood pressure monitoring device for home use, and check it regularly. Google the correct guidelines for measuring blood pressure (seated position, arm rested but not supported, wait 5 minutes, etc.) so that you get good results. If it is consistently above 120/80, talk to the doctor again. The regular feedback might be the encouragement your husband needs to stick with a healthy regimen.
Also, this isn't a black/white thing. Just because he may need Lisinopril or another med in the long-run, doesn't mean he'll need the same dose. If he keeps exercising, eating right, and limiting alcohol, he will probably need a much lesser dose than if he lets it go entirely. Not only will this save some money, but it will reduce the chance/severity of side effects.
Family history: both his parents and his brother have high blood pressure and my husband's doctor also said he has high cholesterol but new research has found that high cholesterol related to heart issues is bogus.
Start doing your own research. Medline Plus is a great resource:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ If you want to go straight to the primary literature, try PubMedCentral for millions of open-access articles:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ If you want something in between...synthesized from primary literature but not meant directly for the public, the gold standard would be Cochrane reviews:
http://www.cochrane.org/I'm not sure what " new research has found that high cholesterol related to heart issues is bogus." is supposed to mean, but if you think high cholesterol is no big deal, you are mistaken.
Another Question: Should I just use all our money to take care of all these health issues now and get it over with, or keep putting them off to refinance as soon as possible?
If this were me, I would try to deal with the cholesterol and high blood pressure issues through lifestyle modification, but get the murmur looked at now. You can probably get the ultrasound cheaper than $1k if you try. Sometimes with my own high deductible plan I find I can get a better cash rate for certain things (e.g. my foot orthotics) than the insurance adjusted rate. In 6 months, get the cholesterol checked again, and get it treated if the lifestyle modifications didn't work. You should be able to monitor the blood pressure on your own, but the same advice applies.
These are just my two cents. Take it or leave it. I think you are doing a great thing in trying to get these issues managed...I would not waste a ton of money on a 'holistic' doc, but some people respond much better to that style of medicine. The most important thing is your husband's buy-in. Better to overpay for a holistic doc if that's the only person he'll trust.
Best,
D
