Take steps to control your high blood pressure and bring it to normal levels. Exercise and losing weight (if you are overweight) can help you do that and might even keep you from having to take blood pressure drugs.
A study showed that a program of regular exercise and weight loss can be a first option for people who are overweight with moderately high blood pressure. The research, carried out at Duke University Medical Center, emphasized the importance of reducing blood pressure at times of mental stress.
"Like high blood pressure itself, an exaggerated cardiovascular response to mental stress is an additional risk factor for heart disease," says study author Anastasia Georgiades, Ph.D., a research associate in the department of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
A smorgasbord of benefits
By lowering stress-induced blood pressure levels and altering other physiological responses to stress, exercise and weight loss may prevent future heart damage, Georgiades explains.
Exercise and weight-management programs caused other health benefits, such as a lower heart rate, more efficient pumping of the heart, greater dilation of blood vessels and a higher overall level of fitness, according to the Duke study, which was reported in the journal Circulation.
The study specifically found that exercise and weight loss can move people from higher categories of hypertension into a lower category.
Normal blood pressure is a systolic pressure (top number) lower than or up to 120 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and a diastolic pressure (bottom number) up to 80 mmHg. A blood pressure reading of 120 to 139 systolic over 80 to 89 diastolic is pre-hypertensive. Someone with systolic pressure between 140 to 159 and diastolic pressure from 90 to 99 mmHg, is said to have stage 1 hypertension. The most dangerous is stage 2 with a systolic higher than 160 and a diastolic greater than 100.
The 99 participants in the six-month study were moderately overweight men and women ages 29 or older with sedentary lifestyles and high blood pressure. The participants underwent a battery of mental stress tests, including simulated public speaking and anger recall.
Previously, another trial, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, found a diet that is lower in fat and high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods significantly and quickly lowers blood pressure. Also, reducing salt intake helps.
Know your risk factors
Although the cause of hypertension remains unknown, some factors are known to increase the chance of developing high blood pressure. They are:
Heredity. If your parents have or had high blood pressure, there is a greater chance you will too.Race. African-Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure than Caucasians.Gender. Men run a greater overall risk for developing high blood pressure than women.Age. The older we get, the greater the risk for developing high blood pressure.Weight . Overweight people are more likely to develop high blood pressure.Other factors contributing to high blood pressure include heavy alcohol consumption, smoking, use of oral contraceptives and a sedentary or inactive lifestyle.
Guidelines for blood pressures are listed in this table:
Category Systolic reading* (mmHg) Diastolic reading* (mmHg) Management Normal less than 120 and less than 80 Lifestyle modification - none No Indication for drug therapy Prehypertension 120-139 or 80-89 Definitive modifications Drug therapy not indicated unless compelling indication* exists. Hypertension 140-159 or 90-99 Definitive modifications Drug therapy indicated. Compelling indications have specific medications. Hypertension greater than 160 or greater than 100 Definitive modifications Drug therapy indicated. Compelling indications have specific medications. *Compelling indications are high-risk situations such as congestive heart failure, heart attack, coronary heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease stroke. Patients with chronic kidney disease or diabetes are treated to BP goal of less than 130/80 mm Hg. From the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, National Institutes of Health. May 2003.
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