How to control high blood pressure without medications?

How to control high blood pressure without medications?

Just because you have been told that your blood pressure is above normal need not mean that you are tied up to medications life long. Changes in lifestyle can definitely bring down your blood pressure even without medications. In those already taking medications, the dose of medications can be brought down by important lifestyle changes. Some lucky ones may be able to stop medications as well. But you have to continue monitoring your blood pressure regularly so that any recurrence can be picked up.

One of the important ways in which to reduce elevated blood pressure is by reducing extra weight. Roughly the blood pressure might come down 1 mm of mercury for every kilogram of weight reduction. Generally, a decrease in weight will also bring down your waistline measurement. Increase in waistline measurement indicates that more fat is collecting in your tummy and correspondingly in your blood vessels as well.

Regular exercise is another good way of reducing high blood pressure. Even though blood pressure rises steadily during exercise according to intensity of exercise, regular exercise brings down the resting blood pressure. 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity is recommended per week. This can be divided into 30 minutes a day or even smaller chunks of convenience. Regular physical activity can bring down the blood pressure about 5 to 8 mm of mercury. Aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, cycling and swimming are the most suitable. If you have high blood pressure, get medical opinion before starting an exercise program.

Importance of a healthy diet cannot be overstressed. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low fat food minimizing trans-fat (fried food) and restriction of salt can bring down the blood pressure by about 10 mm of mercury in those with elevated blood pressure. High salt foods like pickles have to be avoided if you have high blood pressure. Most bakery items and processed food will have higher salt content and have to be restricted.

Relationship between alcohol and blood pressure can be described as a U curve relationship. While small quantities can reduce blood pressure, larger amounts can increase blood pressure. But this does not mean that alcohol can be recommended as a measure to reduce blood pressure. Alcohol can have other social and health implications. It is being mentioned as a suggestion to those who are already habituated to alcohol use to reduce the amount.

Cigarette smoking can increase the blood pressure for even several minutes after smoking. There are other bad effects of smoking on the heart and blood vessels as well. So, it is essential to quit smoking both for reducing blood pressure and other health benefits.

Some person have in increase in blood pressure of around 10 mm of mercury with caffeinated drinks. But this may not occur in those who are regularly consuming such drinks. You can check the effect on your blood pressure by checking blood pressure within half an hour taking a caffeinated drink. One of the criteria for a good blood pressure recording is that you should not have taken caffeinated drinks within half an hour of the measurement.

Reducing stress is another method of reducing blood pressure. In fact the technical name for high blood pressure is hypertension! But it is easily said than done in this era of highly stressful life situations. Planning your activities in a way to avoid potential stressful situations may be useful. Destressing by taking a holiday, taking a walk or even engaging in hobby activities can be useful in bringing down the blood pressure.

With the availability of automated home blood pressure monitoring devices, it is easy to track your progress. Measure the blood pressure only after taking adequate rest and not when you are stressed or tired. Keep a record of the measurements for discussion with your doctor. But don’t be obsessed about the readings and keep on recording every now and then. While applying the blood pressure cuff, make sure that there is no tight clothing which can interfere with the measurement. It is always ideal to take your machine to the doctor’s clinic and get it checked for accuracy. You can also learn the correct method of recording blood pressure from your doctor.