Healthy lifestyle habits to improve blood pressure control |Kytos

blood pressure control

High blood pressure (Hypertension) leads to major risks such as stroke, coronary heart disease, onset and progression of chronic heart failure and chronic kidney failure.

Lifestyle modification for all patients with hypertension, regardless of drug therapy, not only lowers the blood pressure but also offers a range of health benefits.

5 STEPS TO MAINTAIN NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE

1 REDUCE SALT

People with high blood pressure should consume less than 4gm of salt per day which is roughly 1600mg of Sodium.

About three-quarters of the salt that Australians eat every day comes from processed foods rather than from salt added during cooking or at the table! Opt for less processed food and always read the label while buying to check sodium content in different brands of the same variety of food.

Strict salt control can reduce systolic blood pressure by 4-5 mmHg. Avoid top up of table salts to your food.

2 QUIT SMOKING

Smoking is an independent factor which does not directly increase the blood pressure but contributes to hardening of arteries (known as atherosclerosis) which further increases chances of heart disease and stroke.

Smoking cessation markedly reduces overall cardiovascular risk, including the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, compared with continued smoking.

3 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

At least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week can reduce blood pressure.

One can reduce systolic blood pressure by 4–9 mmHg by increasing their levels of physical activity.

4 WATCH YOUR WEIGHT

On average people can reduce their systolic blood pressure by 1 mmHg for every 1% reduction in body weight.

Try to set a goal for ideal body weight with the waist circumference < 94 cm (men) or l < 80 cm (women) and body mass index (BMI) less than 25 kg/m2.

5 LIMIT ALCOHOL INTAKE

Reducing alcohol consumption can lower systolic blood pressure by an average of 3.8 mmHg in patients with hypertension.

The Heart Foundation recommends that patients with hypertension limit their alcohol intake to a maximum of 2 standard drinks per day for men, and 1 standard drink per day for women. Try to have at least two alcohol-free days per week.

REFERENCES:

http://www.nps.org.au/publications/consumer/medicinewise-living/2013/healthy-habits-for-healthy-blood-pressure [cited 10/12/2014]
He FJ, MacGregor GA. Effect of longer-term modest salt reduction on blood pressure. Cochrane Database Systemic Review 2004:CD004937.
http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/31/6/150/3
Dickinson HO, Mason JM, Nicolson DJ, Campbell F, Beyer FR, Cook JV, et al. Lifestyle interventions to reduce raised blood pressure: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Hypertens 2006;24:215-33.