Reducing High Blood Pressure

 

 

 

A lot of Nigerians currently suffer from High Blood Pressure (HBP) but don’t understand the impact of this deadly disease or what they can do to reduce it. So, what’s it about?

HBP is simply the increase of the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls.HBP/hypertension causes the heart to work harder to pump blood and contributes to hardening of the arteries and to the development of heart failure.

Normal pressure – less than 120 over 80 (120/80)

Pre hypertension – 120-139 over 80-89

Stage 1 HBP – 140-159 over 90-99

Stage 2 HBP – 160 and above over 100 & above

Exact causes of HBP are unknown but the following factors aid in the development.

Smoking, being overweight, lack of physical activity, too much salt in diet, too much alcohol consumption, stress, old age, Genetics, family history, chronic kidney disease, thyroid disorders.

So, what can you do to reduce it?

1.      Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline.

HBP increases as weight increases. In general, the more weight you lose, the lower your blood pressure. Also, losing weight helps makes your blood pressure needs more effective.

In general, men are at risk in waist measurement greater than 40 inches whilst Women are at risk if greater than 35 Inches.

2.      Exercise regularly. At least 30-60 minutes. Most days of the week.

3.      Eat a healthy diet. Eat a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetable and low fat dairy products. There’s a diet programs usually recommended for people with HBP called DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension).Google it and try and follow this asap if you are hypertensive.

4.      Reduce salt in your diet. Small reduction can reduce your BP. To reduce salt, consider these tips: track how much salt you use a day, read food labels, and eat fewer processed foods (avoid potato chip, frozen dimers, bacon and processes meats). Use herbs and spices, don’t use salt.

5.      Limit alcohol consumption

In small amount alcohol can actually lower your BP. But in above moderate amount, it raises BP and can reduce the efficacy of your BP medication. If you must drink, track your alcohol consumption, avoid bingeing and if you’re a heavy drinker, reduce.

6.      Avoid smoking as nicotine increases your BP.

7.      Reduce caffeine consumption.

8.      Reduce stress.

9.      Monitor your BP by using a kit at home.