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As we age, one of the most important things we can do to stay healthy is to keep our blood pressure under control. Blood pressure is defined as the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. The role of the heart is to pump blood into your arteries, which then carries the blood throughout your body. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is especially dangerous because it makes the heart pump harder in order to get the blood to your body.
Normal blood pressure
There are several categories of blood pressure, but the one considered normal is less than 120/80. A normal blood pressure should be the goal for every healthy person. If your blood pressure is higher than 120/80, you should check with your doctor about methods for lowering it. There are a number of changes you can make to bring your blood pressure back into normal range.
Changing your lifestyle is critical if you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure. If that doesn’t work, your health care provider can prescribe medication to help keep it under control. Among the lifestyle changes that you should make are changing to an appropriate diet plan and getting a moderate amount of exercise each day.
Here are some specific lifestyle changes that you can make to lower your blood pressure:
- Reduce your salt (sodium) consumption. Sodium is a major factor that could significantly raise your blood pressure, and it’s virtually hidden in many of the foods we eat today such as soups and frozen dinners. Be sure to read the labels of canned or frozen products you purchase and limit your sodium intake to 1500 mg per day.
- Follow the DASH diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This diet was formulated specifically for people who suffer from high blood pressure and includes a diet of vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products and whole grains. You should also get plenty of potassium and reduce your intake of saturated fats.
- Stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. Tobacco causes hardening of the arteries and alcohol may raise your blood pressure. If you smoke, consult your doctor about a plan to quit, and limit your alcohol intake to one or two drinks per day.
- Lose weight. Even if you’re slightly overweight, losing unwanted pounds may help to lower your blood pressure.
- Monitor your stress level. Too much stress in your life is a major concern if you have high blood pressure. Exercise sometimes help reduce stress as does relaxation and deep breathing techniques, so strive for at least a half hour of physical activity per day and get plenty of sleep.
When lifestyle changes are not enough
Lifestyle changes can certainly help to keep your blood pressure under control, but it may not be enough. If your blood pressure remains higher than your doctor thinks it should, he or she may prescribe a medication to control it.
Diuretics, or water pills, are among the medications that are usually prescribed for high blood pressure. They help your kidneys flush out the sodium and water in your system and reduce blood volume. Diuretics may also reduce your chances of having a stroke or heart failure – especially if you’re 80 or older.
Beta blockers are also effective in reducing blood pressure. They serve to open blood vessels so that your heart doesn’t have to work as hard. There are other medications such as enzyme inhibitors, receptor blockers and channel blockers that may also help to lower blood pressure.
A combination of drugs may be in order to more effectively reduce your blood pressure, and after the high blood pressure is under control, your health care provider may suggest that you take a low-dose aspirin on a daily basis to lessen the risk of cardiovascular problems.
Finding out you have high blood pressure does not have to be considered a death sentence. There are any numbers of ways you can lower your blood pressure by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The sooner you see your primary care physician, the sooner your blood pressure can again be under control.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Jane Marian // Jul 4, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Thank you for the list! These are all things that I am able to do.
2 Edie // Jul 5, 2010 at 9:45 pm
This is such an important topic that many people miss. When undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, high blood pressure can develop into a very serious condition.
3 Jane Whitmore // Aug 18, 2010 at 7:55 am
By the way, check out these interesting blood pressure facts from BloodPressureExperts.com:
- The current recommendation is to consume less than 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams[mg] ) of sodium a day.
- Isolated systolic hypertension is diagnosed when the systolic blood pressure is ? 140 and the diastolic blood pressure is < 90.
- High blood pressure rarely has any symptoms.
- Resistant Hypertension is diagnosed when blood pressure can not be reduced to below 140/90 mmHg despite a triple drug regimen.
- There have been a few studies that suggest garlic supplementation may lower blood pressure anywhere from 5-10%
4 Edie // Sep 2, 2010 at 10:10 am
Jane, thanks for sharing this important information, and for stopping by.