High blood pressure relates to the force of blood pressing against the walls of the arteries. When the pressure is too high, the heart has to work harder and this could cause major damage to the arteries. Over time, this continuous damage could put a person in higher risk of a more serious and life-threatening condition such as a heart attack or stroke. What are four ways to drastically reduce your risk of having high blood pressure?
If a person has a blood pressure reading in the range of 130/80, reducing their levels should be a priority.
Elevated blood pressure means a person is at a greater risk of developing high blood pressure later on.
Certain factors for high blood pressure are out of a person’s hands such as age, race, socioeconomic status, family history and gender. However, there are four factors that can be changed.
Factors that can be changed include to reduce the risk of high blood pressure:
Obesity
As body weight increases, so a person’s blood pressure rises. When a person is overweight it increases their risk of high blood pressure.
Leading health care experts believe if a person can reduce their weight so that they are within 15 per cent of their healthy body weight, their risk of having high blood pressure greatly reduces.
Salt
Eating salt raises the amount of sodium in the bloodstream and wreaks havoc on the blood pressure. Salt causes extra strain on blood vessels leading to the kidneys.
Reducing sodium consumption will lower blood pressure and reduce the ability of the kidneys to remove water.
Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels.
Health experts believe that having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily increases the blood pressure and binge drinking puts a person at risk of having a long term blood pressure increase.
High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms
The British Heart Foundation
Exercise
Exercise may be as effective as prescribed drugs to lower blood pressure.
When a person leads a sedentary lifestyle it contributes to the development of obesity which will directly affect blood pressure levels.
The British Heart Foundation said: “High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms.
“Regardless, high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack.
“Therefore its important you get your blood pressure checked regularly with your GP.”
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