Controlling Hypertension

The Silent Killer

Hypertension is a major health problem and many people don’t even know they have .Sometimes people are led to believe that merely changes in their lifestyle are enough to control their hypertension without any need for medication.This is important for persons with mild to moderate blood pressure.

Cutting back on sodium will greatly help you control your hypertension.  Those affected with high blood pressure often claim that reducing their sodium intake reduces their blood pressure as well.You’ll need to get some nutritional information and starting shifting your diet away from high-sodium foods.

Eating more fruits and vegetabls and even some grains increases your intake of important vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Changing your diet in this way together with a reduction in the amount of fats you eat will help you control your blood pressure.

Adding exercise to dietary changes will accellerate your blood pressure reduction.Exercise not only helps lower hypertension, but even people without hypertension have longer life expectancies if they exercise regularly.  An added bonus is that studies suggest that exercise not only reduces the risk for cardiovascular and other diseases, but can help prevent obesity, which is another high blood pressure risk factor.

Exercise is said to be the foundation for successful behavioral change programs.Exercise not only is good for your body and heart, but it also helps reduce stress, which is a major contributor to high blood pressure.

Eating well and exercising are the cornerstone to reducing your blood pressure levels.But there are other factors that also affect your blood pressure.Reducing your alcohol and caffeine intake will also reduce your blood pressure.  You should strive to drink these things only in moderation, or not at all.If you stop smoking, that will help,too.These are serious issues.There will always be something that is impossible to totally give up.It may take many months to modify your behavior successfully.

Stress reduction will also help reduce hypertension.This is a permanent lifestyle change, but it will help you live ten or fifteen years longer.If your stress is really bad, you might want to go to a stress control workshop.

Since these dietary and exercises changes will help reduce the need for hypertension medication, you should consult with your doctor to give you the lower dosages that will now be required.

You should check your blood pressure often to see if these changes are having a positive effect.Fortunately, it is rather easy in this day and age to monitor your blood pressure on a daily basis . Blood pressure monitors for personal use are now readily available and inexpensive. There are digital models that are now accurate and easy to use. I say “now” because when the digital models first were introduced, their accuracy was suspect. But now they are okay.

Getting a handle on controlling your blood pressure takes a real commitment . It’s especially difficult because you don’t feel sick or are in pain. But hypertension gradually wears your body down at a faster rate than would be the case otherwise. That’s why they refer to it as the “Silent Killer.“