Your guide to lowering Blood Pressure

by Sara Alvarado

Updated September 24, 2024
What is Blood Pressure? When blood moves through arteries and veins it pushes against their walls. This push is called blood pressure. It is measured using two numbers one above the other, systolic and diastolic respectively.

The absolute reading value is 120/80mmHg. Numbers can change during the day due to things like exercise. It becomes dangerous when numbers stay high all the time.

The World Health Organization reports about 1.28 billion adults worldwide have high blood pressure, and many don’t even know it. Without treatment, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and even death could follow. The good news? With the right steps, blood pressure really goes down.

1. Understanding Hypertension

High blood pressure happens when blood presses against artery walls very hard, almost constantly. This strains the heart. It’s often called a "silent killer." Why? Because most people feel no signs or maybe weak symptoms. Often nothing seems wrong until serious problems show up. Levels are:

Blood Pressure Category

Systolic (mmHg)

Diastolic (mmHg)

Normal

<120

<80

Prehypertension

120-129

<80

Stage 1 Hypertension

130-139

80-89

Stage 2 Hypertension

≥140

≥90

Table 1: New 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines controlling high blood pressure.

Risk Factors

Is your reading always above 130/80 mmHg? Age and family history are two reasons for high blood pressure that people cannot change. However, many other causes might be managed through how you live.

Controllable Risk Factors

Non-Controllable Risk Factors

Diet high in sodium

Age (especially 60+)

Lack of physical activity

Family history of hypertension

Obesity

Gender (men at higher risk earlier in life)

Smoking and alcohol use

Race (e.g., African Americans are at higher risk)

Table 2: Things you control and things you don't control that lead to high blood pressure
Getting your blood pressure checked often matters a lot for finding out if you have high blood pressure and controlling it later on. High blood pressure is dangerous and everyone should know their numbers, so visit your doctor for some tests if you have risk factors. Personal blood pressures can be recorded at home and the data based on trends can be analyzed.

The Impact of Sleep on Hypertension

Recent research suggests sleep plays a considerable role in blood pressure management. Impaired sleep and less time at the bedside increase hypertension. Research shows that people who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night were 27% much more likely to get hypertension compared with those who slept between 7-8 hours.

The link is thought to come from the impact that sleep has on stress hormones, inflammation, and cardiovascular health more broadly. Under the circadian rhythm, good sleep hygiene, responding to comfortable bedding and light, as well as maintaining a regular bedtime would be effective strategies for controlling hypertension.

Mindfulness and Blood Pressure

Mindfulness practices—and specifically meditation/deep breathing exercises—are beneficial in controlling high-pressure levels. One meta-analysis concluded that mindfulness-based interventions were effective in decreasing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It will help to lower your blood pressure (as we all know, increased numbers can be due to frustration and anxiety). In addition, daily mindfulness practice might offer an easy and drug-free method for individuals seeking to enhance their blood pressure.

2. Consequences of Untreated Hypertension

If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can lead to a bunch of serious problems like:

  • Heart Disease: Very high blood pressure often forces the heart to grow thicker. This problem may lead to heart failure or maybe other serious heart conditions.  
  • Stroke: Hypertension often brings blood clots. These clots raise the chance of stroke.  
  • Kidney Damage: When blood pressure stays high, it sometimes harms the blood vessels in the kidneys. This damage usually affects how well the kidneys clean the body. 
  • Vision Loss: Blood vessels in the eyes may become harmed from hypertensive retinopathy. Such harm often causes trouble with seeing.

3. Modern Methods for Monitoring Blood Pressure

You can get reliable blood pressure readings using an automatic upper-arm monitor. These devices allow for accurate readings to be obtained so you can keep records at home. They should write down their readings to show doctors.

In the past few years smartwatches and fitness bands such as the Apple Watch and Fitbit helped people keep an eye on blood pressure levels.They help track health information. Apps on them offer precise results. Reminders show up for taking medicine. Sometimes, they tell you if blood pressure drops or spikes.

4. How to Lower High Blood Pressure

1. Dietary Approaches: With consistent intake of potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber rich foods you can reduce the rate of increased blood pressure.

Food Group

Recommended Servings Per Day

Fruits and Vegetables

4-5 servings

Whole Grains

6-8 servings

Low-fat Dairy

2-3 servings

Lean Protein (fish, poultry)

≤2 servings

Nuts and Seeds

4-5 servings per week

Sodium

≤2,300 mg per day (ideally 1,500 mg)

Table 3: The DASH Diet recommended food group and servings per day
For people with high blood pressure, studies have shown that following the DASH diet can reduce the higher blood pressure number by as much as 11 mm Hg.
2. Weight Control: As body weight rises, the blood pressure number may increase. Losing around 5-10% of your weight really lowers blood pressure.

Tip: Use a Body Mass Index (BMI) check to see if you weigh too much. A BMI between 18.5 and 25 shows a healthy range. Higher than 25 points to extra weight
Your guide to lowering Blood Pressure

Image Credit: Merrylandsmedical

3. Physical Activity: It is very much essential and regarded as the quintessence of blood pressure reduction. Doing at least 150 minutes of activities such as fast walking, riding a bike, or swimming will go a long way in helping your blood pressure come down by at least 5 to 8 points, besides keeping the heart strong.

Examples of exercises to incorporate into your routine:

  • Brisk walking (30 minutes/day)
  • Cycling
  • Swimming
  • Resistance training
4. Reducing Sodium Intake: Sodium salt leads our body to retain water. This raises blood pressure. The AHA suggested that people who react strongly to sodium should eat 1,500 mg of it each day if they reasonably can. It should stay under 2,300 mg a day.

Tip: Choose herbs or spices when seasoning food. This cuts sodium but keeps the taste.
Your guide to lowering Blood Pressure

Image Credit: Slideshare

5. Medications and Other Treatments

Lifestyle modifications alone may be insufficient to reduce blood pressure to goal for many individuals. But in such cases, medication is needed. Some medication options include:

1. Diuretics: Help the body get rid of extra water and salt.
2. Beta-blockers: Slow down the heart and decrease its effort.
3. ACE Inhibitors: Stop the creation of a hormone that tightens blood vessels.
4. Calcium Channel Blockers: Help relax and widen blood vessels.

6. Managing Hypertension Long-Term

Proper blood pressure regulation over long-term health requires a healthy lifestyle (diet, exercising) consistency as well as proper medication if your doctor prescribes it.

Even if you take a keen interest in monitoring your numbers at home, it is still important that you make regular visits to the doctor's office. Approved programs will be prescribed, after which you must meet with your doctor to see if your therapy is effective—or to make any needed changes. However, for those who have high but under-control blood pressure, doctor visits two to three times in 6 months should do.

Keep your family or friends up to date. As a matter of fact, family and friends or societal networks indeed do influence your management of hypertension. Historically, the evidence in the literature has pointed out that individuals who work collectively on health matters have a better chance of staying on track. A family member can remind the patient to take their medication, assist in the implementation of wellness habits, or assist with the recording of the blood pressure.

7. Myth Vs. Facts About Blood Pressure

Myth #1: “If i do not have any symptoms, then my blood pressure must be normal.” Some people think they need to feel headaches or dizziness to know if they have high blood pressure. Hypertension is called the "silent killer" because, usually there are no clear signs before health issues happen. Checking blood pressure often is really important.

Myth #2: "High blood pressure is something that only pertains to old people." Though it is a risk factor for age, there are also more and more young adults who suffer from hypertension because of factors like obesity, stress, and unhealthy diets. The CDC estimates that one in four adults aged 20 to 44 has hypertension, highlighting the importance of prevention efforts earlier in life.

Myth #3: “Cutting out salt is enough to lower my blood pressure.” While lowering sodium is important, controlling blood pressure usually requires a variety of actions: diet, exercise, weight management, and sometimes medication.

8. Conclusion

High blood pressure is a very real and very common problem suffered by millions of people across the globe. You can markedly reduce the risks of complications when you take a proactive stance in managing underlying health factors through diet, lifestyle, and exercise.

If you are committed to the DASH diet, regularly measuring blood pressure with wearables or any medical solution, and following the medication treatment plan then it's required to keep this up for a very long time.

Keep in mind, controlling blood pressure is not a temporary act, it is a moment of life where we demand more enriching and healthy living. Using modern technology, the support of family and professional healthcare advice, you can just stay in control of your health.

9. References

  1. 10 ways to control high blood pressure without medication. (2024, July 23). Mayo Clinic. 
  2. DASH Eating Plan | NHLBI, NIH. (2001, January 4). NHLBI, NIH. 
  3. Hypertensive retinopathy. (2024, May 1). Cleveland Clinic. 
  4. Mindfulness training may help lower blood pressure, new study shows. (2019, December 4). Brown University. .
  5. Otr/L, S. B. (2024, September 20). 11 Tricks to lower your blood pressure Instantly and effectively. Verywell Health.
  6. World Health Organization: WHO & World Health Organization: WHO. (2023, March 16). Hypertension
  7. Worth, T. (2024, March 7). How to lower blood pressure quickly and safely. WebMD. 
Article by
Sara Alvarado
Greetings, I'm Sara, a dedicated nurse and a proud contributor to the AutoInfu blog. With my firsthand experience in the world of infusion pumps, I'm here to provide you with the latest insights, expert advice, and essential updates to ensure you stay informed about the infusion pump industry.

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