Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries as it circulates through your body. While your blood pressure may rise and fall throughout the day, when it stays consistently high, you have hypertension. This condition increases your risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, and stroke, the third leading cause of death. To reduce your risk of developing these conditions, you need to control your hypertension by various treatment methods.
Step 1
Reduce your sodium intake. To control and prevent hypertension, you need to reduce the amount of sodium you consume daily. The average American adult eats 2,400mg of sodium daily, however, if you have high blood pressure, your consumption should be limited to 1,500mg per day. Large amounts of sodium increases blood volume, thus increasing your blood pressure.
Step 2
Become more physically active. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute notes that an increase in physical activity is necessary to lower your blood pressure. It strengthens your heart, allowing it to pump more blood with less effort. Thirty minutes a day is effective and can lower your blood pressure by five to 10 points.
Step 3
Find ways to relieve your stress. Stress may be responsible for short-term spikes in blood pressure, however, no proof exists to show that it is responsible for long-term high blood pressure. Over time, frequent, temporary spikes can damage the blood vessels and heart the same way long-term high blood pressure does. For this reason, you need to find ways to relieve stress when it strikes. Deep breathing exercises, meditation and yoga classes are various means of relaxation. If possible, avoid the stressors in your life, such as people you do not get along with or places that stir up bad memories.
Step 4
Reduce or eliminate your alcohol consumption. Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D., Hypertension Specialist for MayoClinic.com, states that more than three drinks in one setting can temporarily increase your blood pressure, however, repeated periods of binge drinking result in long-term high blood pressure. If you are a heavy drinker, Sheps states that cutting back to moderate drinking, which means two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women, can lower your blood pressure by two to four points.
Step 5
Combine medication with lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes may not be enough. In which case your doctor may prescribe a medication to help control hypertension. It may require a combination of medications along with any lifestyle changes you have recently made.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: About High Blood Pressure
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise: A Drug-Free Approach to Lowering High Blood Pressure
- MayoClinic.com: Stress and High Blood Pressure: What's the Connection?
- MayoClinic.com: Does Drinking Alcohol Affect Your Blood Pressure
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Treatment of High Blood Pressure
- MayoClinic.com: High Blood Pressure Lifestyle and Home Remedies
