Healthy Lifestyle Changes for Managing High Blood Pressure

Hypertensive patients need to take extra care of their health. When considering what healthy lifestyle changes might be needed for managing high blood pressure, let this be a guide. First, we will explain what high blood pressure means.

What is High Blood Pressure?

Blood is carried from the heart to other body parts by the arteries. When the pressure of the blood pushes against the arterial walls, this is known as blood pressure. The measurement of the blood pressure is usually in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a disease that affects the arteries in the body. The force of the blood that pushes against the arterial walls is consistently high when there is high blood pressure. Therefore, to pump blood, the heart has to work harder.

In an ideal situation, the diastolic and systolic blood pressure of an individual should be less than 120 and 80, respectively. When hypertension is not treated for a long time, it can cause complications including stroke, heart attack, and other health issues. It is necessary to ensure that from the age of 18 years, you have your blood pressure checked as frequently as possible.

Classification of High Blood Pressure 

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (2003 Guideline)

CLASSIFICATION	SYSTOLIC	DIASTOLIC
Normal	Less than 120	And Less than 80
Prehypertension	120-129	Or 80-89
Hypertension
Stage 1	140-149	Or 90-99
Stage 2	Greater than 160	Or greater than 100

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association classifies blood pressure into four general categories. Ideal blood pressure is categorized as normal.)

• Normal blood pressure: Blood pressure of120/80 mm Hg or lower is classified as normal
• Elevated blood pressure: Blood pressure where the systolic ranges from 120 to 129 mm Hg and the diastolic is below, not above, 80 mm Hg, is referred to as elevated blood pressure
• Stage 1 hypertension: In this stage of hypertension, the systolic ranges between 130 to 139 mm Hg, or the diastolic is between 80 and 89 mm Hg.
• Stage 2 hypertension: The systolic pressure in this stage of hypertension is 140 mm Hg or higher or 90 mm Hg or higher for the diastolic.

A hypertensive crisis, which is a medical emergency, is when the blood pressure of an individual is above 180/120 mm Hg.

Hypertension is sometimes known as the “silent killer.” This is because most persons with hypertension do not experience any symptoms.

Signs and symptoms of high blood pressure

• Headache
• Nausea
• heart palpitations
• vomiting
• breathlessness
• the person may feel dizzy
• the blurred vision
• nosebleeds

Preeclampsia is an indication of hypertension during pregnancy. This condition is a dangerous medical issue that can affect both the fetus and the mother. The symptoms include 

• Headaches
• Edema causing swelling
• Changing vision
• abdominal pain

What are Some Healthy Lifestyle Changes for Managing High Blood Pressure?

The high blood pressure of many individuals can be lowered or kept in a healthy range by engaging in lifestyle modifications.

In the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association classification of blood pressure, individuals with blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg are classified as those with elevated blood pressure, meaning that there is a possibility that they may develop hypertension. For elevated hypertension, one can reduce the risk of developing hypertension with lifestyle modification without necessarily using medications. 

For some individuals, apart from making positive lifestyle modifications, they may require medications to manage their blood pressure. The following are some lifestyle modifications that one can engage to help manage blood pressure.

Regular exercise

Regular exercise will help you to reduce blood pressure and maintain a healthy weight. A person’s heart gets stronger and pumps less forcefully as one routinely raises the heart and breathing rates. As a result, your blood pressure drops and the strain on your arteries is reduced. It is important to ensure that one exercises regularly to prevent the blood pressure from increasing. For those with elevated blood pressure, regular exercise can help to prevent one from having high blood pressure. One should aim at ensuring to engage in physical activities of at least 30 minutes daily.

Aerobic exercises are exercises that allow you to use more oxygen than usual and make the heart beat harder. Examples include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, or dancing. It is encouraged to engage in an aerobic exercise that is vigorously intensive for an hour and 15 minutes per week or an aerobic exercise that is moderately intense for at least two and a half hours each week. One can also engage in high-intensity interval training which involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with periods of lighter activity.

One can increase the activity level by engaging in simple exercises and not necessarily running marathons. The most important thing is that the activities you engage in, are done regularly. These activities include:

• Instead of driving, walk
• Engaging in household chores
• Use the stairs
• Involving in a team sport
• Do some gardening work

Smoking cessation

The risk of having a heart attack and stroke increases with cigarette smoking causing blood pressure to increase. With smoking, there is an increase, though temporary, in blood pressure, and the heart rate will also increase.

The chemicals in tobacco in the long term will cause the walls of the blood vessel to damage, bringing about inflammation, and the arteries will be narrowed, thereby leading to an increase in blood pressure.

Smoking cessation will cause blood pressure to reduce. It can lead to a longer life as a result of a reduced risk of heart disease and an overall improvement in health.

Healthy eating

Healthy eating is crucial in helping to manage blood pressure. Having a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol can help in the reduction of blood pressure. Reducing the consumption of processed foods will help reduce the salt, sugar, or refined carbohydrates that one consumes, thereby helping in reducing blood pressure. There is a need to increase the potassium intake while reducing the sodium intake. Examples of good potassium-containing foods include fruits and vegetables rather than supplements. 

Potassium in the diet helps to reduce the tension in the blood vessels while reducing the effects of salt on the system. One must be careful as a potassium-rich diet may be harmful to those with kidney disease, hence the need to talk to a doctor before increasing potassium intake. There are lots of foods with high potassium content, and they include fish, fruits such as apricots, avocadoes, bananas, and oranges, dairy foods low in fat which include yogurt and milk, and vegetables including tomatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, and greens.

There can be an improvement in the health of the heart of an individual with a little reduction in sodium consumption. This can cause a reduction of blood pressure by more than 5 to 6 mm Hg. To lower sodium consumption one should reduce intake of processed foods, and use herbs or spices to flavor your food instead of salt, you can control the amount of salt usage if you cook more as you are a, ensure to read the food labels to look out for foods and beverages with low sodium content.

Some persons are salt insensitive, that is high salt intake does not affect their blood pressure rather, the salt is excreted in the urine; while some are salt sensitive, that is their blood pressure is increased with high salt consumption. 

The National Institutes of Health advises the reduction of the intake of salt using the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The DASH diet emphasizes:

• poultry 
• beans
• Fish
• fruits and vegetables
• Dairy that is low in fats
• whole grains 
• Fewer sweets and red meats
• foods that have a low sodium content

Reduction of Alcohol consumption

One can cause the blood pressure to rise by too much alcohol consumption. A limit of alcohol consumption to less than a drink for women and for men, two drinks in a day, can help cause blood pressure to reduce by about 4 mm Hg. Too much alcohol consumption causes an addition of extra calories which will cause one to gain weight. A drink is equivalent to 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer.

Stress Management

Stress management and relaxation can aid in the improvement of both physical and emotional health and also cause blood pressure to reduce. Long-term stress on emotional health can cause a rise in blood pressure. Some ways of managing stress include 

• Ensure to have relaxation time, making time to breathe deeply, sit quietly, and do some activities you enjoy like cooking, taking a walk, etc.
• Listening to music
• Yoga and meditation
• Practice gratitude by expressing it to others.
• Try to avoid doing too much. 
• Always have a daily plan and focus on your priorities.
• Put your focus on something peaceful and calm.
• Avoid anything that will trigger stress.

Weight control

Losing weight is one essential lifestyle modification in the management of high blood pressure. Ensuring healthy weight maintenance can help lower the risk of having other challenges and also cause a reduction in blood pressure. As one gains weight, the risk of becoming hypertensive increases.

The waistline size is also important as too much weight around the waistline can increase the likelihood of having hypertension. In general, for men: the risk increases with a waistline measurement of more than 40 inches (102 centimeters). While for women, the risk is more with a waistline measurement of more than 35 inches (89 centimeters). Among ethnic groups though, these numbers vary.

Ensure to get a good night’s sleep

When sleeping, the blood pressure tends to reduce. Sleep deprivation can affect one’s blood pressure. For some people, it is not easy getting a good sleep. These are some ways to get a good sleep.

• During the day, ensure to exercise.
• Before bedtime, try to relax.
• Try to set up a regular schedule for sleeping.
• Avoid naps during the day.
• Try to make your bedroom comfortable.
• Avoid going to bed stuffed up or hungry. Large meals should be avoided close to bedtime as well as alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine intake.

For those who sleep less than five hours regularly are at risk of hypertension in the long run. It was observed by the 2010 National Sleep Heart Health Study that sleeping less than seven hours or more than nine hours a night regularly was associated with an increased rate of hypertension.