Take Charge Of Your Hypertension
Posted on 27. Nov, 2009 by Kathy Forcey in Diet & Nutrition
Most people think of hypertension as the inevitable consequence of age or factors like being overweight. But research has found that nearly everyone is susceptible to developing high blood pressure during their lifetime. Currently nearly one-third of all Americans suffer from high blood pressure, many of whom don’t even realize it, thus making the need to manage hypertension a top priority.
Hypertension is one of those few diseases that generally don’t exhibit symptoms until it’s too late. Because of this, high blood pressure can go untreated for a long time. By the time most people realize there’s something wrong, it’s because of a medical check-up for some other reason.
While in many cases, the causes of hypertension may be unknown and may not result in immediate consequences, hypertension itself can lead to serious health conditions such as stroke, heart attack and even heart or kidney failure. That is why it is so important to get regular checkups and monitor for any changes in your blood pressure.
Prolonged high blood pressure can damage your arteries. Basically, blood pressure is a measurement of the force of blood flowing through the body’s arteries when pumped through the heart’s contracting action. When the pressure is too high, the arterial wall can become weakened and the risk for heart failure increased.
Obesity, abusing alcohol, high salt intake and lack of physical activity are the main factors that can contribute to the onset of hypertension. The good news though is that all of these factors are within the control of the person. If dealt with early on, you can reduce the risk and manage hypertension.
You can manage hypertension by reducing some of the risk factors. Start by eating healthier foods. The DASH diet is specifically designed to address high blood pressure by emphasizing fruits, vegetables, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish, poultry, nuts and legumes. You’ll also need to ramp up your level of activity. Take a nice long walk after dinner and slowly increase your pace each day.
Hypertension is a lifelong disease. Once diagnosed by your doctor, prescription medications are the most common way to manage hypertension. Both you and your doctor will need to keep an eye on the blood pressure levels your doctor will determine is appropriate for you, given factors such as age and activity level.
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