Friday, March 6, 2009

How To Lower Your Blood Pressure

By Katie A Price

Hypertension is the increase in blood pressure beyond normal levels for a long period of time. Usually, people in middle to late adulthood are often diagnosed with hypertension. There are many causes of hypertension that can traced back to ones lifestyle. Upon the diagnosis of hypertension, you may be asking what things you can do in order to prevent yourself from having it. Before thinking about that, you first need to know that 120/80 is the normal reading for blood pressure. If you go beyond that reading, then you should start taking action now.

When reading blood pressure through a sphygmomanometer, you will record two numbers. The first number on the top is called the systole while the second is called the diastole. A blood pressure reading is said to be elevated if it reaches 140/100, or if 40 is added to your usual reading. There are many causes and risk factors for hypertension and all of which involve lifestyle.

Generally speaking, hypertension is known to be hereditary. If hypertension runs in your family, then you better think of possible ways to prevent it. Most of the time, when a direct relative like your parent or brother is known to be hypertensive, you are most likely to have hypertension too.

Lifestyle is said to be sedentary if no extra physical activity is exerted. Usually people with a sedentary lifestyle do not do household chores, would just often watch television or sit on the couch the whole day. If you want to prevent hypertension, then I suggest that you take action now and start making your lifestyle more active. You dont have to force yourself by immediately starting strenuous physical work without conditioning your body. All you need to do is to starting moving your body and do physical activities in moderation.

Exercise always brings good things to your body. With exercise, you are able to improve your bodys overall circulation. Exercise also strengthens your lungs and heart muscles. During exercise, you require more oxygen for your muscles therefore your lung muscles are doing extra work. Your heart muscles are also pumping more blood to be distributed in your system. Exercise also burns off unwanted fat.

Fatty foods are truly delicious but they can be harmful to our bodies. Its not that fat contains poison, but excessive fat will cause you no good. Eating large amounts of fatty foods for a long period of time will result to hypertension because of its deposition in your arterial walls. The arteries do not have a big passageway for blood and when fat deposits in its walls, the passageway for blood is narrowed. The narrowing is the cause of increase pressure from within the walls.

Aside from fatty foods, foods that are rich in sodium are also known to have caused hypertension. Limit your sodium intake by lowering your consumption of chips and avoid eating in fast food chains. Potato chips are very rich in sodium, same as foods offered in fast food restaurants. Therefore, in order to avoid having a high blood pressure, you should limit and control yourself from eating these types of foods.

For you to avoid developing hypertension, it is really necessary to make changes in your lifestyle. If you are used to doing it, a sudden lifestyle change is really difficult to achieve; however, all you need is motivation and determination to be healthy. The long term management for hypertension includes maintenance drugs which may be another cause of expenses for you.

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