Managing your Hypertension

Jul 11

Hypertension is a common condition, but it can still be serious. If you have high blood pressure and don’t control it, you may have problems such as heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. There are no symptoms of hypertension, so the only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get your blood pressure checked regularly.

Knowing your numbers is important because some people will need medicine to control their hypertension in addition to lifestyle changes. If your health care provider prescribes medicine for you to take for your high blood pressure, make sure that you take it exactly as directed. Taking medicine or making other lifestyle choices about diet and exercise can help prevent adverse events later on down the road such as heart attacks, strokes or even death.

High blood pressure may have no symptoms, but it can still damage your heart and other organs.

High blood pressure is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease and stroke, which are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. It also increases your risk for kidney disease as well as eye problems such as glaucoma or cataracts (the clouding of the lens of the eye). High blood pressure is associated with an increased risk for dementia, impotence in men, sexual dysfunction in women and strokes in both sexes.

If you have high blood pressure, your heart is working harder than it should for your body’s needs. Over time, this can lead to a weakening of the heart muscle, an enlarged heart, or heart failure. This is why it is so important that you take steps to control your blood pressure.

If you have high blood pressure, your heart is working harder than it should for your body's needs. Over time, this can lead to a weakening of the heart muscle, an enlarged heart, or heart failure. This is why it is so important that you take steps to control your blood pressure.

High blood pressure causes more than one out of every three strokes and is also linked to coronary artery disease (a condition in which plaque builds up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart), peripheral vascular disease (a condition in which plaque blocks arteries to the legs), and kidney disease.

Use these six tips to control hypertension naturally.

Monitor your blood pressure regularly.
Eat a healthy diet.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Exercise regularly.
Avoid tobacco smoke.
Use medications as prescribed.

Monitor your numbers.

Know your numbers.

Knowing your blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes levels can help you manage them. If you have hypertension, make sure to keep track of how much salt you eat in a day and what percentage of calories come from fat. Once you know how high your blood pressure is, talk to your doctor about how to lower it safely.

Eat wisely.

Eating a diet that is low in sodium and high in potassium can also help reduce your blood pressure.

Avoid saturated fat, cholesterol, and alcohol.

Limit caffeine intake to less than 300 mg per day (about two cups of coffee).

Foods with a lot of sugar can raise blood pressure, so try to limit sugary foods like pastries and candy.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Maintaining a healthy weight is also important for people with hypertension. If you are overweight, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can help lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Choose whole grains in place of refined grains (such as white bread).
Limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men if you don't already drink alcohol at all (more than this amount may raise blood pressure levels).

Exercise regularly.

Exercise can help lower blood pressure, even if you already have hypertension. Exercise also has other benefits: it can help you feel better, sleep better, and have more energy.

Exercise can help lower blood pressure in two ways: by increasing the amount of blood vessels your heart uses to pump blood through your body and by strengthening muscles that support your circulatory system. When these muscles are stronger, they use less energy to do their job. This lowers the amount of stress on your heart and reduces its workload. If you're overweight or obese (a BMI over 30), exercise can also help you lose weight and lower high blood pressure as a result.

Avoid tobacco smoke.

The best way to avoid smoking is to never start, but it's never too late to quit. The effects of smoking are long lasting and can affect your health even if you've been smoke-free for many years. If you do choose to smoke, be sure to talk with your doctor about how best to stop. Quitting smoking lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50–70 percent within one year after quitting; this benefit continues over time and reduces the risk of developing lung cancer by 50 percent within 3–5 years after quitting (a reduction in lung cancer death rates similar in magnitude).

Know your numbers and track them often to help you stay on top of your health and prevent serious problems like heart disease and stroke down the road.

Knowing your numbers and tracking them often is important. It helps you stay on top of your health and prevent serious problems like heart disease and stroke down the road.

We hope this article has given you some ideas for managing your hypertension naturally. If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it’s important to know that you can control it by following a few simple steps. One of the most important things is to monitor your numbers and track them often to help stay on top of your health and prevent serious problems like heart disease or stroke down the road.

Aziz Abdullah