11 Ways To Control Your High Blood Pressure

Regular Blood Pressure Check

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure also known as hypertension is a chronic disease which occurs when the blood pressure is persistently high.

A blood pressure that is persistently up to 140/90 millimeter of mercury (mmHg) for three consecutive days qualifies as hypertension.

A primary high blood pressure is of unknown etiology and occurs in adults above the age of 35 years.

Successful management of primary hypertension is dependent on lifestyle changes and medication adherence.

It is a life-long condition and should get all the attention it demands in order to prevent complications.

This article’s focus is on primary hypertension.

It explores the risk factors for high blood pressure, the lifestyle changes you need to make including medication adherence which are required for you to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease.

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you may be concerned about how to manage the condition and keep your blood pressure under control.

Lifestyles and medications play a major role in controlling your high blood pressure.

However, evidence shows that blood pressure can be successfully controlled with a healthy lifestyle as a result of which the need for medication may be delayed or reduced.

What You Will Learn

You will learn about lifestyle changes you need to make to lower your blood pressure. They include: weight loss, exercise, blood pressure monitoring, alcohol intake, smoking, salt intake, healthy diet, stress, medication adherence, caffeine intake and support system.

Here are 11 important ways you can keep your blood pressure under control.

Skating as an exercise reduces your blood pressure

1. Engage in Physical Activity

Engage in regular exercise to stay healthy and reduce your blood pressure.

Try to put in 150 minutes of exercise every week or 30 minutes of exercise daily for most days of the week.

Regular physical activity can reduce your blood pressure by about 5-8mmHg.

Exercising requires consistency. So be consistent and do not stop so that you will not have rebound high blood pressure.

Exercising is crucial because it prevents you from having hypertension when your blood pressure is mildly elevated.

But when you have been confirmed to have hypertension, exercise helps you to lower your blood pressure and keep it within normal range.

It is recommended that you start with aerobic exercises which will help reduce your blood pressure.

You can start with exercises like jogging, dancing, swimming, walking or cycling.

There is also what is called high intensity interval training. This involves alternating short periods of intense activity with periods of lighter activity.

In addition, strength training will help you lower your blood pressure. Try and do strength training exercises at least two days every week.

You need an exercise plan to implement a structured exercise that will be of immense benefits to you.

Therefore, you need to talk to your health provider about developing an exercise plan. Read this post for more on exercise.

2. Try and Lose Weight

Blood pressure and weight gain are causally related. An increase in weight often leads to an increase in blood pressure.

Also, if you are overweight, you may have difficulty in breathing when you are asleep which is known as sleep apnea and is likely to raise your blood pressure.

Loss of weight is an important and effective lifestyle change necessary for the control of high blood pressure.

Evidence has shown that loss of weight irrespective of the level for someone who is overweight or obese helps to reduce blood pressure.

It is recommended that you make efforts to lose weight gradually, as I kilogram or 2.2 pounds of weight lost may reduce your blood pressure by 1 mmHg.

So, you have to shed some weight if you are overweight or obese.

In addition, you should also watch your waistline and make sure you do not carry too much weight around your waist. This is because you are at greater risk of high blood pressure if you have too much weight around your waist.

It is important to note that men have a high risk of high blood pressure if their waist measurement is greater than 102 centimeters (or 40 inches), while women are at greater risk if their waist measurement is greater than 89 centimeters (or 35 inches).

However, these numbers may vary based on demographics. So, ask your health provider who is in a position to provide you with a healthy waist measurement.

Eat healthy diet

3. Eat healthy food

Eat healthy food always to lower your blood pressure. Eat a diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, fruits and low fat dairy products instead of saturated fat and cholesterol.

If you have a high blood pressure, a healthy diet will help you reduce your blood pressure by about 11 mmHg. Try and develop eating plan in line with what is known as the dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet.

It may not be easy for you to change your eating habits. However, the following tips will help you adopt a healthy diet with ease:

 Get a food diary.

Having a food diary will help you write down your daily eating habit, for example, what you eat in a week.

This can shed light on your eating habits so you can monitor what you eat, how much of it you eat, when you do eat and why.

 Increase intake of potassium.

Potassium is a micronutrient found in some foods. It has an antagonistic effect on sodium and so can lower blood pressure.

Try to eat more foods rich in potassium particularly fruits and vegetables which are commonly available. Engage your health provider to find out the level of potassium that is best for you.

 Shop smartly.

When shopping, always carefully read food labels to be sure you have the right food. Stick to your healthy eating plan particularly when you are out on a social event.

4. Eat diet with less sodium

Aim to reduce sodium content in your diet in order to improve your health and reduce your blood pressure.

If you have high blood pressure and you reduce sodium in your diet you will be lowering your blood pressure by 5 to 6 mmHg.

There are variations in terms of the effect of sodium on blood pressure. In any case, try and limit your intake of sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) or less in a day, or better still to 1,500 mg or less daily. The ideal daily dose for most adults is said to be 1,500mg or less.

Aim to reduce sodium in your diet as you consider the following tips:

 Do not add salt to your food.

A level teaspoon of salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. You can use spices, not salt, to add flavor to your food. Adding salt to your food will mean an increased sodium content of your food which can increase your blood pressure.

 Do not eat processed foods.

Most natural foods contain only a small amount of sodium while foods with high sodium content are processed. Therefore, try and avoid processed foods as much as possible

 Choose low-sodium foods.

When shopping, read the food labels carefully and if possible, buy foods with low- sodium content.

 Take gradual steps to reduce sodium intake.

It may be difficult for you to achieve a drastic reduction in sodium intake. What you should do is to cut back gradually the amount of salt you put in your food, and the consumption of sodium-rich food. You will gradually get used to low-salt food over time.

Smokers are liable to die young

5. Stop smoking

Cigarette smoking increases your blood pressure and this happens for many minutes after finishing a cigarette.

Therefore, stop smoking so that your blood pressure will return to normal. Also, if you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease will reduce while your overall health and wellbeing will improve.

There is a popular cliché that smokers are liable to die young. This is true. So, if you do not want to die young, quit smoking. On the other hand, people who quit smoking may live longer than those who do not quit.

6. Drink moderate quantity of alcohol

Alcohol is good for your health when taken in moderation, but bad when taken in excess.

So, alcohol can be good and bad for your health. Drink alcohol moderately by taking one to two drinks a day.
This will help to reduce your blood pressure by 4 mmHg.

One drink is equal to twelve ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor and five ounces of wine. However, if you take too much alcohol, its protective effect will be lost.

Ensure that you drink moderate quantity of alcohol, because when you drink too much alcohol, your blood pressure will go up by several points.

Also, too much alcohol will make the blood pressure medications to be less effective.

7. Aim to reduce your stress

Chronic stress is a contributor to high blood pressure though more research needs to be done to determine chronic stress effects on blood pressure.

If you react to stress with consumption of unhealthy food, smoking or drinking of alcohol your blood pressure may go up.

It is recommended that you think and identify factors that cause stress for you. Is it your family? Could it be your work? Or is it illness? What of your finance?

So, first step is to identify what is causing stress for you and then set yourself up to reduce or eliminate your stress.

You have to learn how to cope with your stressors if it impossible or you are unable to eliminate them.

The following tips will be of help in coping with your stressors:

 Focus on problems you can solve.

Try to settle work issues when they occur by talking to your senior colleague or your boss.

Also, if you have family conflict involving your kids or your spouse, take action to resolve it.

 Avoid triggers of stress.

Try to avoid things that cause you stress when you can.

For instance, if you are always trapped in rush-hour traffic on your way to work, and you are stressed as a result, try and leave for work earlier to beat traffic.

If possible, avoid people that cause you stress.

 Have flexible expectations.

You have to plan realistically and do not expect too much. Focus on your priorities.

Learn to say no when you are not in the position to do what you were asked. Do not try to stretch yourself to please anyone.

Know your limitations and understand there are things beyond your control, and things you lack the capacity to change.

 Show gratitude.

Cultivate the habit of showing gratitude to others. This can help you reduce your stress.

 Create time to relax.

Take time each day to relax and rest. Create time to participate in activities or hobbies that relax you and give you joy such as playing video games, volunteering, cooking, reading books for fun or taking a walk.

Always consume healthy diet and drink

8. Reduce Intake of Caffeine

The role of caffeine in increasing blood pressure is subject to debate.

It has been found that people who rarely consume caffeine have increased blood pressure up to 10 mmHg while people who consume caffeine more regularly may have normal blood pressure.

It is not clear if there are long-term effects of caffeine on the blood pressure. However, it is possible that blood pressure may rise slightly in the long run.

You may check your blood pressure within 30 minutes of drinking a caffeine-containing beverage to see if caffeine causes a rise in your blood pressure.

An increase of blood pressure by 5 to 10 mmHg is an indication that caffeine may be increasing your blood pressure and that there is need for you to take action. In this regard, talk to your healthcare provider for professional advice concerning caffeine’s effects on your blood pressure.

9. Seek support

You should enlist the support of your family, friends and relatives to help you manage your blood pressure and improve your overall health and wellbeing.

Your support system will encourage you to take care of your health.
They will take you to your healthcare provider, support you to comply with recommended treatment, and encourage you to enroll in an exercise program that will help you lower your blood pressure and improve your health.

Also, joining a support group will be helpful beyond the support you receive from your family, relatives and friends.

Support groups are important as they keep you in touch with people who can provide practical tips on how to cope with your condition.

They can also give you a moral or emotional boost to manage your condition successfully. For more on support system check this post.

10. Monitor your blood pressure at home and see your healthcare provider regularly

Monitoring of your blood pressure should be done regularly at home. This will show if your lifestyle changes are yielding positive results in terms of reduction in your blood pressure.

Home monitoring will alert you and your healthcare provider concerning possible health complications.

Blood pressure monitors are readily available and can be obtained without prescription. So, try and get one for yourself but first talk to your healthcare provider about home monitoring of your blood pressure before getting started.

Pay regular visits to your healthcare provider who will help you to control your blood pressure.

When your blood pressure is under control, inform your healthcare provider and seek his/her professional opinion on how often you need to check it.

Your healthcare provider may advise you to check your blood pressure daily or less often. Making changes in your medications or other treatments will requires your healthcare provider’s attention.

Your healthcare provider may recommend that you check your blood pressure one week after treatment changes and more often before your next appointment.

Cycling to the hospital to see the doctor

11. Take your recommended medications

High blood pressure requires the long term use of pharmacotherapy, and treatment adherence is key to achieving blood pressure control.

However about 50% of people receiving treatment for chronic illnesses do not take their medications as prescribed.

Factors responsible for poor adherence to medications include lack of patients’ involvement in their treatment decision making process, and their poor literacy level.

Other factors include prescription of complex drugs regimens by the physicians, poor information communication about adverse effects of drugs, and communication barriers, lack of health information technology, limited access to healthcare, and limitations on office visit time.

Barriers to medication adherence are complex and solutions to improve adherence must be multifactorial.

To overcome barriers to medication adherence, high blood pressure management education is key. Improved blood pressure knowledge will improve self-care practices.

Also people with high blood pressure should be involved in treatment decisions. For example, when they get involved, it is easier to know which time of the day it is more convenient for them to take their medications.

The economic status of those with high blood pressure may limit their ability to adhere to medications. Those struggling due to financial constraints should be introduced to programmes with financial assistance plans.

Health providers should follow a patients centered approach to care, which promotes active involvement of people with high blood pressure in the medical decision-making process.

Health providers must ensure effective and blame-free communication with their patients taking into account their cultural beliefs and attitudes.

This will help health providers build trust with their patients, making it easier to address any adherence barrier.

Medication prescription should be done in such a way that will improve adherence.

Physicians should aim at prescribing the minimum dose necessary to control blood pressure, using forgiving drugs if necessary, and reducing high pill burden as much as possible.

Health system changes will help address poor medication adherence.

For example, a team-based approach to healthcare, in which some tasks are performed by office staff and case managers, will make more time available for physician-patient interactions on medication adherence, while other team members also ensure patients take their medications regularly.

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