Reducing high blood pressure may require one or more of therapies, including weight loss, exercise or the use of medications. Attempting all of these treatments at once can be overwhelming. Each has its advantages, and choosing to do only one at first is a step in the right direction. Speak to your doctor about where to start.
How Weight Affects Blood Pressure
The simple act of gaining weight can increase your blood pressure. More weight means your heart needs to pump blood around a larger area. You need more blood moving around that area to effectively deliver nutrients, too. As you gain weight, your clothes can become tighter, which contributes to the problem. This is why the American Academy of Family Physicians advises against wearing tight clothes when you check your blood pressure.
Effects of Weight Loss
Losing weight will not lower blood pressure for everyone, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says a drop of as little as 10 lbs. can be enough to affect your blood pressure readings positively. If you reduce the area around which the body needs to transport blood, your heart won't have to work as much. In addition, a 2004 review in the journal "Sports Medicine" noted that weight loss improves aspects of left ventricular function in the heart and reduced stiffness in the arteries.
Combined Therapies
Losing weight is only one possible therapy for high blood pressure, and combining it with others might have a pronounced effect on your blood pressure. The 2004 "Sports Medicine" review looked at how weight loss, exercise and dietary changes worked in various combinations and noted that exercise combined with weight loss had a bigger effect compared with just one or the other. A 2010 study in "Archives of Internal Medicine" found an even bigger reduction in blood pressure by combining weight loss and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, or DASH. That combination lowered blood pressure in 144 subjects by 16.1/9.9 mmHG, meaning the top number in the blood pressure reading went down more than 16 points on average, and the bottom number 9.9 points.
Caution
Be extremely careful if you choose to take weight loss supplements to lower your blood pressure. They can not only be costly, but some supplements -- such as ephedra and guarana -- can actually increase blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about devising a diet plan. Exercise has its own beneficial effects on blood pressure, so discuss with your doctor the best way to work in a cardiovascular workout as a way of lowering blood pressure.
References
- Colorado State University Extension: Weight Loss Products and Programs
- University of Georgia: High Blood Pressure
- PubMed.gov: Effects of the DASH Diet Alone and in Combination With Exercise and Weight Loss on Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Biomarkers in Men and Women With High Blood Pressure: the ENCORE Study
- PubMed.gov: Effects of Exercise, Diet and Weight Loss on High Blood Pressure
- MedlinePlus: High Blood Pressure
- American Academy of Family Physicians: Monitoring Your Blood Pressure at Home
