nurse taking blood pressure

Keep Your Heart Healthy: How to Lower Blood Pressure Quickly

1 in every 3 American adults has high blood pressure.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a serious medical condition that can result in heart problems and even prove fatal. This means the pressure inside your arteries is higher than it should be and higher than what your arteries can cope with.

High blood pressure often has no signs or symptoms, so it’s important to get your blood pressure checked regularly.

Lower blood pressure quickly by following the below tips and tricks.

What Is Blood Pressure and How Is It Measured?

Firstly, let’s look at what blood pressure is and how its normally measured so you have a better understanding of why it’s important to lower it.

Blood pressure is written as two numbers for example 118/66 mm Hg.

The first number, called the systolic number, is the pressure when the heart beats. The second number, called the diastolic number, is the pressure when the heart rests.

For a normal healthy adult, your blood pressure should be below 120/80 mm Hg. Anything over these numbers is considered high. This becomes a problem when these numbers stay elevated for an extended period of time.

Some people will go through periods of elevated blood pressure. This can be due to a stressful life event or disease. Once the stress or disease is resolved, your blood pressure should return to normal.

How Can I Lower My Blood Pressure?

There are many lifestyle and environmental changes you can make to help lower your blood pressure.

If your blood pressure is really high, you may not be able to lower it without the help of medication. If your blood pressure is dangerously high, you may have to be hospitalized until the doctor can get it under control.

1. Lose Weight

One of the biggest risks for high blood pressure is being overweight. Use a BMI calculator to work out your healthy weight for your age and height. If you aren’t in the healthy weight range, then it’s time to change.

Being overweight means that you have more fat tissue then is required by your body. In order to live, this fat tissue and skin need nutrients.

For this to happen, your body has to increase its blood volume to ensure each area of your body is receiving enough nutrients. If your blood volume has increased, this puts a strain on your heart as it needs to work extra hard to pump the extra fluid around.

Once you reach a healthy weight, it is important to maintain it, and not ‘yo-yo’ up and down.

2. Exercise

To lower your blood pressure, you need to exercise daily. This can just be an active job or a brisk walk around the block. Either way, get moving and save yourself from serious medical complications down the line.

Aim for 30 minutes of activity each day.

3. Diet Changes

Yes, you will need to change your diet if you want to see your blood pressure decrease.

Remove salty, fatty, processed foods from your diet. Instead opt for whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats and fish to help lower your blood pressure. If you want to continue consuming dairy products, ensure they are low-fat.

Watch out for foods that have added salt. Keep your salt intake under 1500mg per day.

You may benefit from taking a multi-vitamin, to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals needed to function. If you are eating a whole healthy diet, your diet should contain all the nutrients you need.

Try to cut back on your alcohol intake and consider removing it from your diet all together initially. Once you have your blood pressure under control, then you should consume no more than 1 unit a day for women and 2 units a day for men.

Cutting back on caffeine may help. Limit your caffeine consumption to 1 regular cup of coffee or tea a day. You may want to cut it out completely until your blood pressure is under control. If you are a heavy consumer, gradually cut back to avoid withdrawal problems.

4. Quit Smoking

There is no benefit to smoking. You are at huge risk of developing incurable cancers alongside increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Smoking hardens your arteries that your blood flows through, and therefore increases your blood pressure.

Visit your healthcare provider and quit today before it’s too late. If you live in the house with a smoker, the risks of second-hand smoking are just as serious.

5. Relieve Stress

Stressful events will take place in your life and will be out of your control. When you are feeling stressed, take some time to meditate to gain control of your blood pressure. Breathing techniques can really help in regulating blood pressure.

If you are experiencing prolonged periods of stress, visit your healthcare provider to ensure your body isn’t feeling the effects of the stress too.

They will be able to assess whether you require counseling to help with your stress.

Ensure you get at least 8 hours of sleep each night and have time to switch off and rest.

6. Visit the Doctor

If you are suffering from high blood pressure, visit your Doctor. You may need ant-hypertensive medication to bring your blood pressure down to normal ranges.

Consider a Bystolic coupon to save you money on the medication.

If you make the above lifestyle changes, you will be able to come off your medication after a review with your Doctor.

Lower Blood Pressure Quickly Today

Prolonged periods of high blood pressure can prove fatal if you don’t lower blood pressure quickly. If you live a healthy stress-free lifestyle you will lower your risk of developing high blood pressure.

For more health and wellbeing information, take a look at the other articles right here on our blog.

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