High Blood Pressure: Symptoms, Causes & treatment
The pressure of the blood in the circulatory system, often measured for diagnosis since it is closely related to the force and rate of the heartbeat and the diameter and elasticity of the arterial walls.
The force of circulating blood on the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is taken using two measurements: systolic (measured when the heart beats, when blood pressure is at its highest) and diastolic (measured between heart beats, when blood pressure is at its lowest). Blood pressure is written with the systolic blood pressure first, followed by the diastolic blood pressure (for example 120/80).
1. Lose Overweight
Weight loss is an important part of reducing high blood pressure, especially for people with obesity, as it’s a strong risk factor for hypertension. With less weight, the heart and arteries do not have to work as hard. The heart muscle and the muscles in the arteries do not thicken. Thickening can lead to further increases in blood pressure because of reduced give or elasticity of blood vessels.
Talk to your doctor or registered dietitian about a safe weight loss plan that will work for you, or consider trying a support app like Noom. Even modest weight loss in these patients—4 to 10 pounds—is associated with a significant reduction in blood pressure levels.
2. Regular exercise
Regular exercise not only aids in weight loss, but also helps decrease high blood pressure. Blood pressure decreased in the hours after an exercise session regardless of a person’s age, sex and other characteristics[3]. This effect can result in somewhere between a 10 and 15 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure levels.
3. Eat a healthy diet
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is a healthy-eating plan designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure (hypertension).
The DASH diet includes foods that are rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium. These nutrients help control blood pressure. The diet limits foods that are high in sodium, saturated fat and added sugars.
What are some of the foods you should eat?
1. Skim or 1% milk, yogurt, Greek yogurt (calcium-rich foods can lower blood pressure).
2. Lean meat.
3. Skinless turkey and chicken.
4. Low-salt, ready-to-eat cereals.
5. Cooked hot cereal (not instant).
6. Low-fat and low-salt cheeses.
Fruits (fresh, frozen, or canned without added salt).
4. Reduce Drinking Alcohol
Alcoholism can damage the body in several ways, your blood pressure included. If you or a loved one has a problem with drinking, it’s important to know how alcohol can affect blood pressure and what to do about it.
Men are more likely than women to have high blood pressure. In fact, even small amounts of alcohol can increase hypertension risk in men. As for binge drinking, younger men are more likely to experience high blood pressure from excess alcohol use than younger women.
5. Quit smoking
Smoking is a harmful habit that can lead to severe health complications and death. When a person quits smoking, the body will start to naturally heal and regain the vitality of a non-smoker over time.
Some effects, such as lowered blood pressure, are seen almost immediately. Other effects, such as risks of developing lung cancer, heart disease, and lung disease, take years to drop down to the levels of a non-smoker.
In as little as 1 day after quitting smoking, a person's blood pressure begins to drop, decreasing the risk of heart disease from smoking-induced high blood pressure. In this short time, a person's oxygen levels will have risen, making physical activity and exercise easier to do, promoting heart-healthy habits.
6. Reduce your stress
Stressful situations can cause your blood pressure to spike temporarily, but can stress also cause long-term high blood pressure? Could all those short-term stress-related blood pressure spikes add up and cause high blood pressure in the long term? Researchers aren't sure.
Your body produces a surge of hormones when you're in a stressful situation. These hormones temporarily increase your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat faster and your blood vessels to narrow.
There's no proof that stress by itself causes long-term high blood pressure. But reacting to stress in unhealthy ways can increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
7. Monitor your blood pressure regularly
Home blood pressure monitors are accurate and easy to use. The information you get from tracking your blood pressure levels regularly at home can help you lower your risk for a heart attack—or other heart-related event—better than occasional measurements at a doctor's office.
Home blood pressure monitoring can help guide your treatment by showing whether your medicines are working or if you need to take a different approach. Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes found that people who monitored their blood pressure at home were more likely to reach their blood pressure goals than those who were monitored only by their doctor.
Anyone who has high blood pressure, or is at risk for it, can benefit from home blood pressure monitoring, especially women with diabetes or kidney disease. You might also want to consider taking your blood pressure at home if your levels tend to fluctuate. Getting an accurate accounting of the variations will help your doctor better treat your blood pressure.
Drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day may increase your blood pressure. If you're a big fan of coffee, tea or other caffeine-rich drinks, such as cola and some energy drinks, consider cutting down.
It's fine to drink tea and coffee as part of a balanced diet, but it's important that these drinks are not your main or only source of fluid.
9. Try meditation or deep breathing
While these two behaviors could also fall under “stress reduction techniques,” meditation and deep breathing deserve specific mention.
Both meditation and deep breathing may activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This system is engaged when the body relaxes, slowing the heart rate, and lowering blood pressure.
Some natural supplements may also help lower blood pressure. Here are some of the main supplements that have evidence behind them.
Aged garlic extract: aged garlic extract successfully as a stand-alone treatment and along with conventional therapies for lowering blood pressure.
Berberine: Traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, berberine may increase nitric oxide production, which helps decrease blood pressure.
Whey protein: whey protein improved blood pressure and blood vessel function in 38 participants.
Fish oil: Long credited with improving heart health, fish oil may benefit people with high blood pressure the most.
Hibiscus: Hibiscus flowers make a tasty tea. They’re rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols that are good for your heart and may lower blood pressure.
Comments
Post a Comment