Controlling High Blood Pressure

Did you know that controlling high blood pressure is a lot easier than you think. High blood pressure is known as the ''silent killer''! The disease is a life threatening condition that affects billions of citizens.

High blood pressure or hypertension is the most commonly diagnosed medical condition in the United States.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is often described as the "silent killer" because it generally has no symptoms - the condition affect 1 in 3 adults...

Most people would not know if their blood pressure is high until it is measured. High blood pressure can be diagnosed quickly and easily.

Test yourself this can be done at home, at stores, or at the doctor office. The illness is considered dangerous.

If untreated, it can contribute to many serious health conditions, including heart failure, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness, and untimely death...

Please! Reach your goal by controlling your high blood pressure. The daily choices we make about how we live our lives determine our hearts' capability to function.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular illness is the number one killer in the United States...

Statistics show that African Americans are 50 to 100 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure than their white counterparts.

African Americans also develop hypertension at younger ages than whites, have a harder time keeping it under control and die from it at much higher...

Many individuals are not attentive to having high blood pressure in this country. About half of these individuals are being treated for this condition, and the other half has their condition under control.

People like me timid away from taking medications that could help manage their blood pressure...

Personally, I have concerns regarding the side effects of medicines. In addition, I have a problem with being on high blood pressure pills the rest of my life.

Treatments, has improved overtime. Some of the concerns are unfounded...

The way drugs are being used today for high blood pressure is move effective, Saunders said.

There are ways to controlling high blood pressure without taken medicine...

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Change your lifestyle to control high blood pressure.
Some of the things you can do include:

• Check your blood pressure regularly  

• Reduce stress  

• Regular aerobic exercise  

• Increase your intake of calcium, magnesium, and potassium  

• Reduce caffeine, sodium, and saturated and trans fat  

Types of food to avoid:

Fats – Fatty foods is not good for the heart and blood vessels. Avoid red meat and fast food.

Salt or Sodium – damage the heart and arteries and raise blood pressure...

Alcohol – damages the walls of the blood vessels, while simultaneously increases risks of future complications. Individuals with high blood should not drink alcohol, because it raises your blood pressure.

Extra calories and sugar – causes weight gain. Extra puts surplus strain on the heart and slows down the blood flow...

Plan a healthy eating plan in your lifestyle daily. Avoiding certain foods will not only lower blood pressure, years to your life will be added.

You may wish to purchase a home blood pressure monitor to measure your blood pressure

High Blood Pressure Causes

In about 10% of people, high blood pressure is caused by another disease (this is called secondary hypertension). In such cases, when the root cause is treated, blood pressure usually returns to normal. These causes of secondary hypertension include the following conditions:

• Chronic kidney disease
  
• Tumors or other diseases of the adrenal gland 
  
• Coarctation of the aorta - A narrowing of the aorta that you are born with that can cause high blood pressure in your arms...
  
• Pregnancy
  
• Use of birth control pills
  
• Alcohol addiction
  
• Thyroid dysfunction  

In the other 90% of cases, the cause of high blood pressure is not known (referred to as primary hypertension). Although the specific cause is unknown, certain factors are recognized as contributing to high blood pressure...

Factors that can't be changed

• Age: The older you get, the greater the likelihood that you will develop high blood pressure, especially systolic, as your arteries get stiffer. This is largely due to arteriosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries."  

• Race: African Americans have high blood pressure more often than whites. They develop high blood pressure at a younger age and develop more severe complications sooner...

• Socioeconomic status: High blood pressure is also more common among the less educated and lower socioeconomic groups. Residents of the southeastern United States, both whites and blacks, are more likely to have high blood pressure than Americans from other regions.  

• Family history (heredity): The tendency to have high blood pressure appears to run in families...  

• Gender: Generally men have a greater likelihood of developing high blood pressure than women. This likelihood varies according to age and among various ethnic groups.  

Factors that can be changed

• Overweight ( obesity): Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2. It is very closely related to high blood pressure. Medical professionals strongly recommend that all obese people with high blood pressure lose weight until they are within 15% of their healthy body weight. Your health care provider can help you calculate your BMI and healthy range of body weight... 

• Sodium (salt) sensitivity: Some people have high sensitivity to sodium (salt), and their blood pressure goes up if they use salt. Reducing sodium intake tends to lower their blood pressure. Americans consume 10-15 times more sodium than they need. Fast foods and processed foods contain particularly high amounts of sodium. Many over-the-counter medicines, such as painkillers, also contain large amounts of sodium. Read labels to find out how much sodium is contained in food items. Avoid those with high sodium levels. 
  

• Alcohol use: Drinking more than one to two drinks of alcohol per day tends to raise blood pressure in those who are sensitive to alcohol... 
  

• Birth control pills (  oral contraceptive use): Some women who take birth control pills develop high blood pressure. 
  

• Lack of exercise (physical inactivity): A sedentary lifestyle contributes to the development of obesity and high blood pressure...  

• Drugs: Certain drugs, such as amphetamines (stimulants), diet pills, and some pills used for cold and allergy symptoms, tend to raise blood pressure.  

As body weight increases, the blood pressure rises.

• Obese people are two to six times more likely to develop high blood pressure than people whose weight is within a healthy range... 
  

• Not only the degree of obesity is important, but also the manner in which the body accumulates extra fat. Some people gain weight around their belly (central obesity or "apple-shaped" people), while others store fat around their hips and thighs ("pear-shaped" people). "Apple-shaped" people tend to have greater health risks than "pear-shaped" people.  

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