Hypertension is a serious problem that affects 1/3 of adults in the United States. It can often have no symptoms but still needs immediate attention -- especially if you are overweight, sedentary, eating improperly and/or it just runs in your family. Try the tips below and see which ones work for you and your lifestyle.High blood pressure raises your chances of having both heart attack and stroke.
It’s important to know your numbers. If you have high blood pressure, there are things you can do to bring it down, including taking medication.
CAUSES OF BLOOD PRESSURE
It’s important to know your numbers. If you have high blood pressure, there are things you can do to bring it down, including taking medication.
CAUSES OF BLOOD PRESSURE
- Obesity: As body weight increases, the blood pressure rises. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m. A BMI of 25-30 kg/m is considered overweight (BMI=weight in pounds x 703/ height in inches) Being overweight increases the risk of high blood pressure. Health care practitioners recommend that all obese people with high blood pressure lose weight until they are within 15% of their healthy body weight.
- Obese people are two to six times more likely to develop high blood pressure than people whose weight is within a healthy range.
- Not only the degree of obesity is important, but also the manner in which the body accumulates extra fat. Some people gain weight around their belly (central obesity or "apple-shaped" people), while others store fat around their hips and thighs ("pear-shaped" people). "Apple-shaped" people tend to have greater health risks for high blood pressure than "pear-shaped" people.
- Sodium (salt) sensitivity: Some people have high sensitivity to sodium (salt), and their blood pressure increases if they use salt. Reducing sodium intake tends to lower their blood pressure. Americans consume 10-15 times more sodium than they need. Fast foods and processed foods contain particularly high amounts of sodium. Many over-the-counter medicines also contain large amounts of sodium. Read food labels and learn about salt content in foods and other products as a healthy first step to reducing salt intake. Fast food restaurants also make the salt and calorie content of their food available to consumers at their restaurants,
Smoking
For people who smoke and suffer from high blood pressure, the nicotine present in cigarette smoke is a major part of the problem. This is because the smoke inhaled raises the blood pressure and heart rate while narrowing the arteries and hardening the walls. This process also makes the blood more likely to clot.
As a result, the heart is forced to pump harder, making the organ stressed and setting up the individual up for a heart attack or stroke.
Sedentary lifestyle
Individuals who do not engage in frequent or regular physical activity also tend to have high blood pressure. Plus, a lack of physical activity also makes weight management more difficult while weakening the heart and elevating stress levels.
Such individuals who are not physically active are much more susceptible to developing health problems and become more likely candidates for increasing their risk of heart attack and stroke. To counter this problem, individuals with hypertension are advised to adapt a more active lifestyle to help bring blood pressure levels to normal levels.
Chronic alcohol consumption
Chronic alcohol consumption over time can also damage the heart and raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels. It has been studied that while having more than three drinks in a single sitting can temporarily increase blood pressure, repeated binge drinking can have long term effects. Plus, alcohol also contains calories which can contribute to weight gain, an underlying risk factor for hypertension
Stress
While stress and long term hypertension may not be linked directly, high levels of stress can be a contributory factor to a temporary increase in blood pressure. This is because the body starts to produce a surge of hormones when it is in a stressful situation. These hormones briefly elevate blood pressure by triggering the heart to beat faster and causing the blood vessels to narrow.
Genetics
Genetic factors are known to play a role in conditions such as hypertension, heart disease and other related conditions. This becomes possible because family members not only share genes but also lifestyle behaviors, habits and environments which influence their health along with their risk for disease.
Chronic kidney disease
Consuming excess salt raises the amount of sodium in the blood stream, upsetting the delicate balance and impairing the ability of the kidneys to remove the extra water from the system. Over time this additional strain can damage the kidneys and develop into a condition known as kidney disease.
The reduced ability of the kidneys to filter out unwanted toxins from the body lead to an accumulation of these substances, which if left untreated can lead to kidney failure.
Thyroid disorders
High blood pressure can also be linked with some sort of a thyroid disorder. The culprits may either be hypo or hyperthyroidism. By some estimates, individuals with hypothyroidism are two or three times more at risk for developing high blood pressure.
This is contributed to the fact that low production of the thyroid hormone can potentially slow down heartbeat which can in turn impact the pumping strength of the heart along with the flexibility of the blood vessels.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly. Individuals suffering from sleep apnea also exhibit hypertensions since blood pressure levels tend to go up when breathing is obstructed in any manner. If the individual is not breathing properly, the level of oxygen in their body falls, and excites receptors in the brain.
CONTROL H.B.P NATURALLY
Garlic and High Fiber is Key!
Garlic for one, is one of the newly-discovered treatments for hypertension. According to research, garlic contains compounds which reduce lipids in your blood. These lipids are often a cause of hypertension.
Start the DASH diet.
That stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" diet, which is exactly what you should be looking for. It means piling on the whole foods/grains, fruits and veggies, low-fat dairy and skipping the sugar, saturated fat and cholesterol.
- This diet has been shown to reduce blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg.Basically, you'll be cutting out red meat, junk food, and white carbs (including "white" sugar, flour, noodles and potatoes,...). You don't have to go cold turkey, but the foods mentioned above should make up the vast majority of your diet.
Reduce your sodium intake.
Limit your sodium to about 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day. If you don't feel like you eat a ton of salt, it may just be an issue of not knowing what's in the food you eat. An easy way to cut out the salt is to skip on the processed foods; when you prepare your own food, you know just what goes into it. Start cooking!
- Don't add salt to your foods! If that's an issue for you, start cutting back gradually. Believe it or not, your palate will adjust.
Up your potassium, magnesium, and calcium levels.
These three nutrients have been linked to low levels of blood pressure in multiple studies. While calcium and magnesium aren't linked to technically lowering high blood pressure (like potassium is), they are linked to low blood pressure in general.
- Potassium (the most potent of the three) is found in fruits, veggies, dairy, and fish.
- Calcium is found in dairy products (go for the low-fat kind) and magnesium is found in whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and dry peas and beans.
- For all three of these, if you have a healthy diet, you don't need to take a supplement. Having extra isn't beneficial to your system.
Exercise 30-60 minutes almost every day of the week.
Apart from losing that excess weight, regular cardio exercise can significantly lower your blood pressure within weeks. Weeks! That's about as close to instant gratification as you're gonna get.
- Even making small efforts helps. Squeezing in a 15 minute walk before work is definitely better than nothing. You don't have to get your workout in all in one go! Having an active lifestyle is all about finding small ways to get moving. It doesn't necessarily mean going to the gym.
