High Blood Pressure: Things You Can Do to Help Lower
Yours
What is high blood pressure?
Imagine that your arteries are
pipes that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your
body. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) occurs
when your blood moves through your arteries at a higher
pressure than normal.
What do the numbers mean?
Blood pressure is really two
measurements, separated by a slash when written down, such as
120/80. You may also hear someone say a blood pressure is "120
over 80."
The first number is the systolic
blood pressure. This is the peak blood pressure when your
heart is squeezing blood out. The second number is the
diastolic blood pressure. It's the pressure when your heart is
filling with blood--relaxing between beats.
A normal blood pressure is 120/80
or lower. High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher. If your
blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/90, you have
something called "prehypertension."
How is high blood pressure diagnosed?
Blood pressure is measured by
putting a blood pressure cuff around your arm, inflating the
cuff and listening for the flow of blood. Your doctor will
measure your blood pressure at more than one visit to see if
you have high blood pressure.
How often should I have my blood pressure
checked?
Even in children, blood pressure
should be checked occasionally, beginning at about age 2.
After age 21, have your blood pressure checked at least once
every 2 years. Do it more often if you have had high blood
pressure in the past.
What problems does high blood pressure
cause?
High blood pressure damages your
blood vessels. This in turn raises your risk of stroke, kidney
failure, heart disease and heart attack.
Does it have any symptoms?
Not usually. This is why it's so
important to have your blood pressure checked regularly.
How is it treated?
Treatment begins with changes you
can make in your lifestyle to help lower your blood pressure
and reduce your risk of heart disease (see the box below).
These things alone may work. If these changes don't work, you
may also need to take medicine.
Even if you must take medicine,
making some changes in your lifestyle can help reduce the
amount of medicine you must take.
How do tobacco products affect blood
pressure?
The nicotine in cigarettes and
other tobacco products causes your blood vessels to constrict
and your heart to beat faster, which temporarily raises your
blood pressure. If you quit smoking or using other tobacco
products, you can significantly lower your risk of heart
disease and heart attack, as well as help lower your blood
pressure.
What about losing weight and
exercising?
Losing weight if you're
overweight helps lower blood pressure in most people. Regular
exercise is a good way to lose weight. It also seems to lower
high blood pressure by itself.
Is sodium really off limits?
Not everyone is affected by
sodium, but sodium can increase blood pressure in some people.
Most people who have high blood pressure should limit the
sodium in their diet each day to less than 2,400 mg. Your
doctor may tell you to limit your sodium even more.
Don't add salt to your food.
Check food labels for sodium. While some foods obviously have
a lot of sodium, such as potato chips, you may not realize how
much sodium is in things like bread and
cheese.
Do I need to quit drinking alcohol
altogether?
In some people, alcohol causes
blood pressure to rise quite a lot. In other people, it
doesn't. If you drink alcohol, limit it to no more than 1 or 2
drinks per day. One drink is a can of beer, a glass of wine or
1 jigger of liquor. If your blood pressure increases with
alcohol, it's best not to drink any alcohol.
Does stress affect my blood pressure?
Stress may affect blood pressure.
To help combat the effects of stress, try relaxation
techniques or biofeedback. These things work best when used at
least once a day. Ask your family doctor for advice.
What about medicine?
Many different types of medicine
can be used to treat high blood pressure (see the box below).
These are called antihypertensive medicines.
The goal of treatment is to
reduce your blood pressure to normal levels with medicine
that's easy to take and has few, if any, side effects. This
goal can almost always be met.
If your blood pressure can only
be controlled with medicine, you'll need to take the medicine
for the rest of your life. Don't stop taking the medicine
without talking with your family doctor or you may increase
your risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
What are the possible side effects of
medicine?
Different drugs have different
side effects for different people. Side effects of
antihypertensive drugs can include feeling dizzy when you
stand up after lying down or sitting, lowered levels of
potassium in your blood, problems sleeping, drowsiness, dry
mouth, headaches, bloating, constipation and depression. In
men, some antihypertensive drugs can cause problems with
having an erection.
Talk to your family doctor about
any changes you notice. If one medicine doesn't work for you
or causes side effects, you have other options. Let your
doctor help you find the right medicine for
you
