How Do You Lower Your Blood Pressure

Its Not Only Your Diet That Affects Your Blood Pressure Its Your Lifestyle Overall

How active you are, whether you smoke and how much alcohol you drink, for example, all make a big difference. In this section, we look at what affects your blood pressure and the best things you can do to lower your blood pressure naturally.

The best part is, all these changes will work together to keep your heart and your body healthy.

See if what you drink is within the recommended guidelines and find out how many units your favourite drinks contain its often more than you think.

Being overweight can raise your blood pressure and put extra strain on your heart. By keeping to a healthy weight, you can look after your blood pressure and your heart.

Exercise can keep you healthy, but it doesnt have to mean running marathons. See how you can be more active and keep it going in the long term.

Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for your blood pressure and your overall health. Find out about the benefits and who can help.

Think your high blood pressure is all down to stress? See what the science shows.

Did you know that the amount of sleep you have can affect your blood pressure?

There are lots of simple changes you can make to what you eat to lower your blood pressure, such as eating more fruit and veg and choosing foods low in salt.

What Are The Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure

Perhaps youre not sure if you have high blood pressure. If it has been a while since youve had your blood pressure taken, consider scheduling a wellness visit with your medical provider. In the meantime, here are some of the key signs of high blood pressure to watch out for:

• Headaches
• Bloody urine

What Can I Do If My Blood Pressure Goes Up Right Before Doctors Visits

Have you ever heard of white coat syndrome? Its what happens when you typically have normal-ranged blood pressure but significantly higher blood pressure in medical settings like hospitals or doctors offices. This is often caused by feeling nervousness or anxiety around medical settings. Unfortunately, this means your health provider might think your blood pressure is higher than it really is.

White coat syndrome isnt uncommon. In fact, one study suggests that 15% to 30% of people who have high blood pressure readings might suffer from white coat syndrome. In cases like these, some patients wonder whether its possible to quickly lower their blood pressure before a reading. If youre in this situation, the safest and most effective thing you can do is try your best to relax.

Here are a few relaxation methods you can try:

If you or your doctor suspect white coat syndrome, your doctor may send you home with a blood pressure monitor that will check your blood pressure periodically throughout a normal day. This gives a more accurate reading of what your blood pressure really is and helps the doctor figure out whether the stress of a physical trip to a medical facility is affecting you.

Recommended Reading: What Animal Has The Highest Blood Pressure

How Can I Lower My Blood Pressure Immediately

High blood pressure is a dangerous condition that impacts nearly half of adults in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . In 2018, close to half a million deaths in the country had high blood pressure as a primary or contributing cause. Occurring when the force of blood pressing against artery walls is consistently too high, high blood pressure requires a long-term care approach. However, there are several ways to temporarily lower your blood pressure in just a matter of minutesgive these methods a try if youd like to lower your blood pressure immediately:

• Take a warm bath or shower. Stay in your shower or bath for at least 15 minutes and enjoy the warm water. This can also help reduce muscle tension.
• Do a breathing exercise. Take a deep breath from your core, hold your breath for about two seconds, then slowly exhale. Pause for a few moments and repeat.
• Relax! Stress is a key contributor to high blood pressure, so do whatever you can to relax. This may be as simple as sitting in a quiet room for a few moments, doing a few stretching exercises, reading a good book, or meditating.

These techniques can provide a quick fix, but its important to implement a long-term care plan to successfully manage your high blood pressure. Some of the most effective ways to lower blood pressure include:

What Causes High Blood Pressure

Risk factors for developing high blood pressure include:

• Family history
• Gender
• Up to age 64, men are more likely to develop high blood pressure than women
• At age 65 and older, women are more likely to develop high blood pressure than men

Race: African-Americans tend to develop high blood pressure more frequently than people of other races in the U.S.

Risk factors for developing high blood pressure that can be prevented or managed include:

• Sedentary lifestyle
• Stress

You May Like: High Blood Pressure And Vinegar

Essential Oils For Blood Pressure

Another of the many natural ways to lower blood pressure is to incorporate some key essential oils into your daily lifestyle. Essential oils can lower blood pressure by dilating arteries, acting as antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress and by decreasing emotional stress. The most effective essential oils for lowering blood pressure are lavender, ylang ylang, clary sage and frankincense.

Precautions

Talk with your natural doctor about how to lower blood pressure naturally and safely. Check with your doctor before making major diet and exercise changes. If youre taking any medications, youll also want to make sure there are no drug interactions with any natural supplements you plan to take.

Final Thoughts

• Blood pressure is a combination of systolic and diastolic pressure.
• High blood pressure happens when the pressure on the arteries and blood vessels becomes too high and the arterial wall becomes distorted causing extra stress on the heart.
• You can monitor your own blood pressure by measuring your pulse rate.
• Try natural ways to lower blood pressure like dietary changes, stress relievers and exercise.
• Check with your doctor before making any major diet or exercise changes or trying new supplements.

Risks And Complications Of High Blood Pressure

All medications have the potential for side effects, so talk to your doctor about what to expect. Since other medical conditions are the leading causes of high blood pressure, your doctor will talk to you about your options for treating any other medical conditions you have.

The greatest risk lies in not addressing your high blood pressure.

Leaving it untreated can cause damage to your blood vessels, heart, and organs. It also puts you at risk for stroke and heart attack. Talk to your doctor about any blood pressure-related concerns you may have.

Other ways to lower your blood pressure over time include:

Recommended Reading: High Blood Pressure Mayo

How Do I Know If I Have High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, which is also called hypertension, doesnt usually cause symptoms. So you wont know if you have high blood pressure without it being measured by a health professional.

Some people may experience headaches, nosebleeds or feel short of breath, but these symptoms usually only occur when blood pressure is dangerously high.

Untreated high blood pressure raises your risk of heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease.

Around 1 in 3 Australians have been diagnosed with hypertension.

Easy Things You Can Do To Lower Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is dangerous. It can lead to many health problems, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, angina, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, kidney disease, vision loss, sexual dysfunction and more.

Fortunately, high blood pressure can often be prevented or controlled.

Here are some easy things you can do to lower your blood pressure or help prevent high blood pressure in the first place.

Exercise. Doctors recommend at least 150 minutes per week of exercise to help reduce blood pressure. Brisk walking is excellent for reducing blood pressure and improving overall cardiovascular health, but other exercises can work too. Try jogging, riding a bike, swimming, dancing, or interval training to get your aerobic exercise. Strength training is also important to your heart health and can help reduce blood pressure.

Eat a heart-healthy diet. Eating a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds that is also low in sodium, saturated fat, added sugar, and cholesterol is important for your heart. There is a diet specifically geared toward lowering blood pressure. Its called the DASH diet, which stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension. Talk to your doctor or make an appointment with a dietitian if you need help making changes to your diet.

Set small, easily attainable goals, and when you reach them, set bigger ones. Step by step, you will take control of your health and your blood pressure.

Read Also: Spicy Food Blood Pressure

How Can I Lower My Blood Pressure In Minutes

If your blood pressure is elevated and you want to see an immediate change, lie down and take deep breaths. This is how you lower your blood pressure within minutes, helping to slow your heart rate and decrease your blood pressure. When you feel stress, hormones are released that constrict your blood vessels.

Take Blood Pressure Medications As Prescribed

The American Heart Association state that people should take their blood pressure medications according to their doctors exact instructions. People should never quit or cut back on their medications unless their doctor has advised them to do so.

If a person has trouble remembering to take their blood pressure medications, they should set up daily reminders on their phone or other devices.

Don’t Miss: Does Claritin D Raise Blood Pressure

Do Regular Physical Activity

Regular aerobic exercise reduces blood pressure. The reductions are greater for people who start with higher blood pressure. Even relatively small increases in physical activity have been shown to lower blood pressure.

• People aged 18-64 years should do a total of 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity activity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous activity every week. You can achieve this in shorter periods of activity. Moderate-intensity activity includes brisk walking, golf, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous activity includes jogging, aerobics, soccer, netball or fast cycling.
• People aged 18-64 years should also do muscle strengthening exercises at least 2 days per week, such as squats, lunges, pull-ups, push-ups, lifting weights, carrying things or digging. When doing resistance exercises, its important to breathe normally and not hold your breath since this raises blood pressure.
• People aged 65 and older should aim for some physical activity every week preferably 30 minutes of moderate intensity on most days. Any activity is better than none, and you can gradually build up to the target total.

If you experience any chest pain, palpitations or unexpected breathlessness during exercise, stop the activity and seek medical advice.

Top Foods For A High Blood Pressure Diet

One of the best things you can do to lower your blood pressure is to eat a healthy, high blood pressure diet. Read on below to find out more about what foods are good for high blood pressure.

• High fiber foods: Unprocessed foods high in fiber such as vegetables, fruits and seeds should be the basis of any healthy diet. If youre wondering how can you stabilize your blood pressure, eating foods high in healthy fiber can definitely help.
• Low sodium foods: Excess salt consumption raises blood pressure. Limit your consumption to no more than 1,5002,000 mg daily.
• High potassium foods: Potassium counteracts the effects of sodium and helps lower blood pressure. Include foods like melons, avocados and bananas.
• Omega-3 rich foods: Consume omega-3 rich foods like grass-fed beef, wild caught salmon, chia and flax seeds to reduce inflammation.

8 Foods That Reduce Blood Pressure:

1. Dark chocolate:

Look for a dark chocolate that contains at least 200 milligrams of cocoa phenols, which can reduce blood pressure.

2. Garlic:

Garlic and garlic supplements can help lower blood pressure and relax smooth muscles. Research on the health benefits of garlic is finding more and more miraculous effects. Among them, garlic seems to help thin the blood, prevent the blockage in blood vessels, and therefore lower blood pressure.

3. Spinach:

Spinach is rich in magnesium and folate, which can help prevent high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

4. Sunflower Seeds:

5. Bananas:

6. Tomatoes:

Read Also: How Does Alcohol Increase Blood Pressure Mechanism

Sudden Spike In Blood Pressure Can Be Serious

Blood pressure is a measurement of the force that blood applies to your arterial walls as it pumps from your heart throughout your body. It also represents how hard your heart is working to push the blood. When blood pressure is higher, it means the heart must work harder to push blood through your system. In turn, the risk of heart disease or heart attack increases.

According to 2014 data, high blood pressure accounts for roughly 1,100 deaths every day in the United States, and only about half of all people with high blood pressure have it under control.

Disturbingly, most people may not even be aware that they have the condition, or are at least on the verge of becoming hypertensive. Some risk factors for high blood pressure include:

• Prehypertension
• Eating a high sodium/low potassium diet
• Not getting enough exercise/physical activity
• Overactive thyroid
• Overactive adrenal glands

A normal blood pressure is in the range of 120 mmHg/80 mmHg . The higher number represents systolic blood pressure and the lower represents diastolic. Prehypertension arises when systolic and diastolic pressures exceed these numbers, and hypertensionor high blood pressurearises when blood pressure reaches 140 mmHg/90mmHg.

Sometimes, however, something causes blood pressure to spike unexpectedlyand the higher your resting blood pressure is, the greater your risk of suffering a severe cardiac event becomes. Therefore, knowing how to lower blood pressure fast is very important.

Lifestyle Changes To Help You Lower Blood Pressure

Small changes in diet, exercise, and weight can lower your blood pressure. Learn how.

When was the last time you thought about your blood pressure? If you’re like most people, it probably hasn’t been since your doctor mentioned it during your last checkup. But high blood pressure is a serious condition that can lead to life-threatening problems, like heart attack and stroke. The good news is that you can lower your risk of hypertension with lifestyle changes.

All patients should be encouraged to exercise, eat a healthy diet, and manage their weight, says Mary Ann Forciea, MD, a physician at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia and the chair of the clinical guidelines committee for the American College of Physicians. There are a variety of strategies to help with these goals, but all require commitment.

If making lifestyle changes feels overwhelming and you dont know where to start, dont worry. Weve got you covered. These five tips will help you keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.

Recommended Reading: Reversing Pulmonary Hypertension

How Can I Control My Blood Pressure

You can often lower your blood pressure by changing your day-to-day habits and by taking medication if needed. Treatment, especially if you have other medical conditions such as diabetes, requires ongoing evaluation and discussions with your doctor.

Lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent and lower high blood pressure:

In addition to recommending lifestyle changes, your doctor will likely prescribe medication to lower your blood pressure to a safe level. Isolated systolic hypertension, the most common form of high blood pressure in older adults, is treated in the same way as regular high blood pressure but may require more than one type of blood pressure medication. You may try several kinds or combinations of medications before finding a plan that works best for you. Medication can control your blood pressure, but it can’t cure it. If your doctor starts you on medication for high blood pressure, you may need to take it long-term.

Consider Cutting Back On Caffeine

Caffeine raises your blood pressure, but the effect is temporary.

In a 2017 study, the systolic blood pressure of 18 participants was elevated for 2 hours after they drank 32 ounces of either a caffeinated drink or an energy drink. Blood pressure then dropped more quickly for the participants who drank a caffeinated drink .

Some people may be more sensitive to caffeine than others. If youre caffeine-sensitive, you may want to cut back on your coffee consumption, or try .

Research on caffeine, including its health benefits, is in the news a lot. The choice of whether to cut back depends on many individual factors.

One older study indicated that caffeines effect on raising blood pressure is greater if your blood pressure is already high. This same study, however, called for more research on the subject .

If your blood pressure is very high or doesnt decrease after making these lifestyle changes, your doctor may recommend prescription drugs.

They work and will improve your long-term outcome, especially if you have other risk factors (

Recommended Reading: Vinegar For Blood Pressure

How Can I Get My Blood Pressure Down Right Now

Here are some simple recommendations: Exercise most days of the week. Exercise is the most effective way to lower your blood pressure. Consume a low-sodium diet. Too much sodium causes blood pressure to rise. Limit alcohol intake to no more than 1 to 2 drinks per day. Make stress reduction a priority.

High Blood Pressure Definition

The definition of high blood pressure, or hypertension, changed in 2017 according to the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines.

Now, normal blood pressure is a systolic, or a top number, of less than 120 and a diastolic blood pressure, or bottom number, of less than 80. So if you have a systolic blood pressure of 130 or greater consistently, you have hypertension. And if you have a diastolic blood pressure of 80 or greater consistently, you have hypertension.

You May Like: Heart Attack Normal Blood Pressure