High blood pressure control - six lifestyle changes that help

High blood pressure is a lifestyle disease, at least to some extent. For this reason, high blood pressure control depends on the patient's willingness to make lifestyle changes and stick to them.

Of course, lifestyle is not the only factor that leads to hypertension. Other causative factors include having a family history of hypertension and/or cardiovascular disease, age and sex. Racial predisposition may also play a part. While the patient cannot do anything about the above factors, he can influence lifestyle related issues that help with high blood pressure control.

If a person has a family history of this or related health condition, he should take extra care to adopt the right lifestyle practices. This will help prevent the onset of high blood pressure in the first place.

Here are six practices that can help high blood pressure control.

#1: Maintain the optimum weight
A doctor can advice each patient about his or her optimum weight depending on factors like height, sex and age. It has been shown that being even ten pounds overweight increases the load on the heart exponentially because of the extra blood vessels through which blood must now be pumped. Conversely, it is known that bringing down the weight to the optimum level reduces the load on the heart significantly. This helps to both prevent hypertension and reduce its severity in those who already have the condition.

#2: Reduce stress
When a person is under stress, his body releases hormones that tend to elevate blood pressure. If the stress is transient, the blood pressure does not stay elevated and soon comes down to normal levels. However, given the pace of daily life, many persons feel that they are continually under stress. This can contribute to hypertension. Using relaxation techniques like meditation and yoga have been found to help many people. More importantly, maintaining a balanced outlook and perspective will go a long way towards keeping stress under control.

#3: Avoid consuming excess alcohol
Regular consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol contributes to raising blood pressure to abnormal levels. Alcohol also causes other health problems besides hypertension. Low to moderate alcohol intake is probably not as risky, although it is best to eliminate alcohol consumption altogether. If that is not possible, consult a doctor to find out how much alcohol can be safely consumed. This will vary depending on sex, age, general health and other factors.

#4: Quit smoking
Smoking has so many deleterious health effects that there is no excuse for not putting an end to this habit. Smoking has been shown to increase the levels of fatty deposits lining the arteries. This contributes to increased blood pressure. Quitting smoking is essential for high blood pressure control.

#5: Exercise regularly
Moderate exercise like brisk walking for half an hour every day can significantly cut down the risk of developing hypertension. The benefits of regular exercise are well-known. If a person is completely unused to exercise, he or she should ask their doctor to devise an exercise program that gradually builds up to an optimum level.

#6: Eat right
If a person is diagnosed with hypertension, one of the first things a doctor will advise him to do is cut down on salt intake. As a general rule, high-fiber, low-fat diets are best suited for high blood pressure control. Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables will help maintain good health.

There are many different kinds of medications available for high blood pressure control. However, hypertension treatment is more effective when the patient adopts the right lifestyle. To a large extent, this health problem can be prevented by sensible living habits.

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