Proven Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
If you have been diagnosed with hypertension, or high blood pressure, you will want to look for methods in bringing those numbers back down to a healthy level. Unchecked high blood pressure can increase your risk of many health problems, including heart and kidney disease, stroke and hardening of the arteries. The good news is that there are many options available today in ways to lower blood pressure, which means that you stand a good chance of finding one or two that will work for you. Your doctor will probably have some suggestions for you in ways to lower blood pressure that may begin with certain lifestyle changes and progress to medications if lifestyle changes are not sufficient on their own.
Lifestyle Modifications that can Lower Blood Pressure
One of the first ways to lower blood pressure that you can try is to make some healthy changes in your diet. The National Institute of Health recommends the DASH diet as a way to lower blood pressure, which stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertenstion. The DASH diet includes 7-8 servings of grains and 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It also incorporates 2 or 3 servings of low-fat dairy products and less than 2 servings of meat or poultry. Nuts and bean servings are increased in this diet plan up to 4-5 each week, and fats, oils and sweets are kept to an absolute minimum. Studies have shown that adhering to the DASH diet plan is a way to lower blood pressure within two weeks, making it a very good choice for those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Another good way to lower blood pressure is to exercise regularly, and the best type of exercise to combat high blood pressure is aerobic or cardiovascular activity. This can include running, walking, cycling or swimming, among other choices. Cardiovascular exercise should be performed multiple times in a single week, for at least 30 minutes at a time. If you are not currently exercising regularly, it is important to ask your doctor about which type of exercise would be the safest and most beneficial for you. Weight training, while not a way to lower blood pressure, is another good form of exercise, but must be used with caution when high blood pressure is a factor. Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any type of strength training program if you have been diagnosed with hypertension.
Medication Options
If it appears that lifestyle modifications will not be a sufficient way to lower blood pressure, your doctor may decide to prescribe a medication for you. Most medicines will need to be taken indefinitely as a way to lower blood pressure, since this condition is not actually cured by the medication, but merely controlled. Discontinuing a hypertension medicine may well result in blood pressure numbers heading back up. However, there are many hypertension medications available, and most are a highly effective way to lower blood pressure.
