On average, one in five adults over the age of eighteen have high blood pressure, technically known as hypertension. Blood pressure is controlled (or dictated by) two factors: the strength of the heart and how forceful blood is pumped around the body, and the internal diameter of the arteries (whether they are blocked or relaxed). As arteries lose their elasticity as they age, blood pressure is always likely to rise as you grow older, but that does not mean hypertension is inevitable.
So what makes hypertension such an important subject? Well, high blood pressure puts more stress on your heart amongst other organs and can cause such problems as strokes, kidney failure, heart disease and heart failure. If your doctor has diagnosed you with having high blood pressure, then you need to sit down and seriously think about changing your whole lifestyle so that this hypertension does not cause you to experience other difficulties in life. But where do you start?
The first thing you need to do is to change your diet. The most obvious change you should make is to drastically reduce your sodium intake. Salt is an extremely common additive to prepared foods such as bread, cereals and sauces, so while cutting down may be difficult, you need to be at least aware of foods that contain salt and possibly look for reduced sodium alternatives. Avoid adding salt to meals also, even low-sodium salt, as this (quite obviously) still contains sodium.
On top of reducing your salt intake, you must also make sure you are getting enough fruit and vegetables in your diet. Try to eat a variety of different fruit and vegetables each and every day and remember the ‘five portions a day’ rule with one single portion weighing in at about eighty grams, roughly the size of a fist.
While adjusting your diet is focusing on controlling the sodium and cholesterol levels in your blood and ultimately the ability of your arteries to transport blood, you also need to consider improving the efficiency of your heart in pumping blood. The heart is a muscle, like any other, and as such by exercising it you can help to improve its strength and efficiency. Cardiovascular exercises should be undertaken for at least fifteen minutes per day for at least five days a week and you should do them rigorously enough to be out of breath. You do not need to splash out of a gym membership to do this, just take a brisk walk every morning before work.
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