High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is estimated to affect nearly 50 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide, as reported by the journal "Hypertension" in 2003. As populations age, it's expected that the occurrence will rise unless prevention and risk management strategies are applied. Education about what constitutes high blood pressure readings and what steps can be taken to prevent or manage hypertension are essential for all people.
Lifestyle
As part of a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise should be implemented as regular practice. The journals "Hypertension" and "Circulation" both report that regular diet and exercise can potentially effectively manage or reduce high blood pressure. However, it is important that you understand the specifics of what effective diet and exercise are if you have high blood pressure or want to reduce the risk for having it.
Diet
The American Heart Association recommends that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins can positively affect high blood pressure. You should aim to consume whole grain non-starchy carbohydrates and proteins that are low in fat content. These foods come from the groups of carbohydrates, fats or proteins which should all be consumed on a daily basis.
Specific Food Types
The lean proteins that are low in saturated fat but contain unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats can be either from animal or plant sources. Some examples of these types of proteins are: skinless chicken, avocados, nuts, seeds, cold water fish, olive oil and vegetable oil. The carbohydrates that can positively affect blood pressure readings as suggested by The Harvard School of Public Health are: brown rice, whole rye, steel-cut oats and green vegetables.
Physical Activity and Exercise
Although you can expect to see an acute rise in blood pressure during exercise participation, long term regular adherence to cardiovascular and strength training can effectively manage blood pressure levels as reported by the journal "Annals of Internal Medicine" in 2002. They suggest these types of activity that include: running, walking, bicycling, cross country skiing and weightlifting in different combinations can positively affect many measures of cardiovascular health.
Risk Reduction
Diet and exercise in combination can significantly reduce your risk for hypertension and the negative health outcomes related to it. The journals "Hypertension" and "Circulation" report that proper management of hypertension through these types of lifestyle modifications as well as other factors can reduce the risk for the occurrence of stroke by 35 to 40 percent; heart attack risk by 20 to 25 percent, and heart failure by greater than 50 percent.
References
- "Hypertension"; Report on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure; A.V. Chobanian et al.; December 2003
- "Circulation"; Treatment of Hypertension in the Prevention and Management of Ischemic Heart Disease; C. Rosendorff et al.; May 2007
- The Harvard School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source Carbohydrates
