Are you aware of Strategy to reduce Hypertension

 Hypertension is a chronic disease of concern due to its role in the causation of coronary heart disease, stroke, and other vascular complications. Its commonest cardiovascular disorder poses a major public health problem.

As the matter of fact, we all know these strategies and we can even guess what is ahead. Yea boring I know,  but here we will know to what degree we have to follow it and its Sureshot impact on blood pressure readings.

Of course, there are pharmacological interventions that your doctor will prescribe but I am here talking about the preventive aspect, the lifestyle modification. Reminding you, these lifestyle modifications play a much bigger role than any medicine in the long run.

Here are some measures to curb your increasing blood pressure

1. Weight Reduction-The prevention and correction of overweight and obesity is a prudent way to decrease the risk of hypertension and indirectly Coronary artery disease. Maintain BMI (18.5 to 24.9).BMI is Basal Metabolic Index. 

Effect-This will reduce systolic bp by 5 to 20mm of hg/10 kg weight loss.

2. Adopting DASH diet 

Now DASH stands for Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. Experts believe many individuals start using the DASH diet from 30 to 40 years.

• Grains: 6 to 8 servings a day. One serving is one slice of bread, 1-ounce dry cereal, or 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice, or pasta.
• Vegetables: 4 to 5 servings a day. One serving is 1 cup raw leafy green vegetables and 1/2 cup cut-up raw or cooked vegetables.
• Fruits: 4 to 5 servings a day. One serving is one medium fruit, 1/2 cup fresh, frozen, or canned fruit, or 1/2 cup fruit juice.
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy products: 2 to 3 servings a day. One serving is 1 cup milk or yogurt, or 1 1/2 ounces cheese.
• Lean meats, poultry, and fish: six 1-ounce servings or fewer a day. One serving is 1 ounce of cooked meat, poultry or fish, or 1 egg.
• Nuts, seeds, and legumes: 4 to 5 servings a week. One serving is 1/3 cup nuts, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 2 tablespoons seeds, or 1/2 cup cooked legumes (dried beans or peas).
• Fats and oils: 2 to 3 servings a day. One serving is 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, or 2 tablespoons salad dressing.
• Sweets and added sugars: 5 servings or fewer a week. One serving is 1 tablespoon of sugar, jelly, or jam.

Effect-This will reduce systolic blood pressure by 8 to 14 mm of hg.

3. Dietary restriction of sodium- you have to consume about 2.4 g sodium or 6g sodium chloride in a day. Sodium is the most important component in building up hypertension.

Some other ways to check sodium.

• Using sodium-free spices or flavorings instead of salt
• Not adding salt when cooking rice, pasta, or hot cereal
• Choosing plain fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables.
• Reading food labels and choosing low-sodium or no-salt-added options.

Effect- this will reduce the bp by 2 to 8 mm of hg.

4. Physical Activity- Engage in regular aerobic exercise such as brisk walking at least 30 min a day on most days of a week

 

Effect- this will help in reducing systolic bp by 4 to 9 mm of hg.

5. Moderation of Alcohol Consumption-Limit consumption to no more than 2 drinks per day for most men and no more than 1 drink per day for women and lighter weight persons.

 Effect- we reduce our bp by  2 to 4 mm of hg.

 

Let's do calculation

In these ways only we can reduce our systolic blood pressure by 21- 55 mm of hg . And that's a huge amount. Some of you might reach the value again where you will never need to take antihypertensive medications.

 

Hopefully, these strategies help you win this difficult battle.