There's every possibility of a person's blood pressure going high, even without him or her realizing it, as this usually occur with symptom that is hardly noticeable and thus this condition is more often than not untouched which leads to hypertension and a slew of other precarious diseases.
Those who are already struggling with high blood pressure, need to seek help to bring it under control with medications. However, not everyone finds the idea of taking medicine on a daily basis feasible, and for those there are certain lifestyle changes that can help them curb, delay or even avoid the need for taking a pill.
So, how to lower blood pressure naturally?
Hypertension usually leads to a stroke, and it is also a risk factor for heart attacks and heart disease. It is crucial for doctors across the board to put in their best effort and watch it carefully and treat it as soon as it is detected, according to Hyannis neurologist Sean Horrigan, DO.
Dr. Horrigan continues to try his best to educate every newly diagnosed hypertension patient about how to keep their blood pressure under control without consuming any sort of medication, CapeCod reported.
Right diet, keeping a tab on your weight, and regular exercise can help retain minimum blood pressure target of 130/80, Dr. Horrigan said.
Check out Dr. Sean Horrigan's top eight tips on how to lower blood pressure naturally
1) Weight control: Being overweight is not ideal on for several reasons, beside the fact that the extra weight makes you more vulnerable to high blood pressure. That said, what may seem like a negligible loss in weight, can dramatically help you battle the risk of high blood pressure.
Dr. Horrigan noted that people have improved their blood pressure simply by losing a mere five pounds - it makes a considerable difference in improving heart health and also in getting blood pressure under control.
Losing weight makes it a lot easier for lungs, heart and the rest of the body system to function properly, and this in turn lowers the blood pressure, TheSequitur reported.
2) Opt for a heart healthy diet: The Mediterranean diet lays emphasis on eating more fruits and vegetables while lowering your intake of meat, saturated fats and carbohydrates in the form of bread and pasta.
3) Keep a tab on your salt intake: Ideally, one should not consume more than 1,500 mg a day. There is a considerably strong correlation between consuming too much sodium and a slew of metabolic disorders including hypertension, Dr. Horrigan said.
4) Check food labels: Its extremely important to read food labels and ensure you are not consuming anything that has too many words that seem to have come out of an organic chemistry book as it's clearly not the best choice for someone with high blood pressure or someone who wants to lower it.
5) Set your priorities: For those patients who find healthy food more expensive, Dr. Horrigan suggest they put their money towards their grocery store rather than their pharmacy. He says, it makes more sense in treating the risk factors with what you eat every day for three meals rather than spend money every month on medication for blood pressure - pill for blood thinner, and pill for cholesterol.
6) Quit smoking: It's no secret; smoking is harmful for your lungs and causes cancer, what many people are probably not aware of is the fact that it can also cause heart attack and stroke. Smoking drastically affects the blood supply in vascular system feeding those organs.
7) Say no to alcohol: Dr. Horrigan notes that "there is a very fine line between healthy and unhealthy drinking."
According to The American Heart and Stroke Association, men should not consume more than two alcoholic beverages a day, while women should not exceed more than one a day.
8) Exercise regularly: Incorporate exercising in your day to day life.
Citing most of Dr. Horrigan's patients are older than 65, he keeps his recommendations realistic. Several studies suggest 30 minutes of light cardiovascular exercise program, three days a week helps curb the possibility of diabetes as well as pressure. But that's not all, with regular exercise you can also manage cholesterol, which, along with the aforementioned diseases is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Patients who are unable to lower their blood pressure despite following the above tips, need to manage it with medication.
