If you are worried about high blood pressure, whether it is a genetic problem that runs in your family, or whether you have recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure or whether you just want to be extra cautious. Follow our top tips on how to keep your blood pressure low and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Weight & Waist
Being overweight can be connected to high blood pressure, so anyone who is carrying a little extra weight will want to keep an eye on keeping as trim as possible. As being overweight can affect your breathing as you sleep, otherwise known as ‘sleep apnea’ this can further raise blood pressure.
As weight loss is one of the most effective ways to control blood pressure this should be a focus for anyone who is worried about blood pressure. Other than just losing weight people should be keeping an eye on their waistline as carrying too much weight around the middle is a dangerous area and can further increase the risk of high blood pressure. Generally speaking men, whose waist measurement is greater than 40 inches and women whose waist is greater than 35 inches are at a greater risk. Therefore it is is recommendable to try and keep as lean and keep those waists as slim as possible to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
Regular Exercise
Just doing as little as 30 minutes of light exercise, five days a week, can go a long way in fighting heart disease. Regular bouts of 30 minutes of exercise can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury, so it is really important to be staying active and to enjoy a minimum of 30 minutes exercise throughout the week.
The best types of exercise for lowering blood pressure include swimming, dancing, cycling, jogging and even just going for a nice relaxing walk. If you are unsure about the types of exercise that are best for you talk to your doctor. If you are unsure about your current level of blood pressure than you can do a blood pressure calculator to determine the level that you are at. From there you will be able to determine the amount of exercise you should be aiming to do to keep yourself active, healthy and to start lowering your blood pressure.
Eating Healthy
Eating the right foods, in the fight against low blood pressure, is an absolute must. Eating a diet that is full of whole grains, vegetables fruits and low-fat dairy products can lower your cholesterol by up to 14 mm Hg. It is not always easy to change our diets but there are some simple steps that you can take. You can try keeping a food diary to allow you to really study your eating patterns and establish where you are going wrong. You can also make sure that when you go shopping you are making much smarter decisions. The best tip here, never go shopping hungry! Plan your meals out and do your shopping when you are full and just focused on purchasing the right foods that will make you feel great, healthy and will work with you in the fight against high blood pressure.
3 Comments
Calling all the seniors. You must read this. This ain’t just for youngs.
Hi
Nice article. I used to have high blood pressure and sleep apnea. Ever since I have started doing light exercise and walking, things have changed significantly.
But I am still struggling with healthy eating!
These 3 simple tips make complete sense and are the best preventive measures but the tough part is execution, this requires lots of will power and self discipline.