Read 64 times since Thursday, February 04, 2010
Harvard just published a study finding that high blood pressure plays a large role in more than 15% of deaths in the United States.
As one of the most preventable conditions it is important to know how to avoid this condition in your life or get rid of it.
Hypertension does not cause any prevalent symptoms. This can be quite a problem because some people that have this condition do not even realize what their body is going through.
The risk of heart attack, stroke, aneurysms, cognitive decline and kidney failure all increase drastically when you have hypertension. It is estimated that about 28% of Americans have the condition and do not even realize it.
If you have not had your pressure checked in the past two years you will want to go see a doctor as soon as possible to have it checked. After you have it checked it is important that you continue to have it checked regularly.
On the positive side, high blood pressure is easy to avoid and easy to get rid of. First, you must be a healthy weight.
If you do not know if you currently weigh a healthy weight, first look at a body mass index chart. This will give you a good range of weight for your height.
The body mass indexing system can be skewed. If you have a lot of muscle the body mass index may not be equipped to estimate what your weight should be.
Once you are to a healthy weight you can start taking power walks. When patients are diagnosed with hypertension one of the first things recommended is to start walking at a brisk pace.
This has proved to be successful in past years, lowering pressure by almost 8 mmgh over 6 mmgh. This exercise helps the heart to use the oxygen we breathe much more efficiently.
If your heart is efficiently pumping blood it will not be working as hard and thus lowers blood pressure. To keep your heart working and growing you should increase your speed and/or distance over time.
Taking the time out of your day to breathe slowly and practice meditation will also help your heart. These practices decrease stress hormones which then elevate rennin, which is a kidney enzyme that raises blood pressure.
If you are able to go to qigong, yoga or tai chi classes take advantage of their stress releasing benefits. If you are not able to go to a class it is enough to take five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night to participate in some meditative breathing.
Increasing your intake of potassium can also help alleviate hypertension. Aiming for potassium levels ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 mg a day is a good goal to shoot for.
Some of the most potassium rich foods are sweet potatoes, tomatoes, orange juice, potatoes, bananas, kidney beans, peas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and dried fruits such as pines and raisins.
Another change to make to your diet is to cut down on the sodium. Eating less sodium does not mean to just go easy on the saltshaker.
The majority of the sodium we take in comes from processed foods. Take the time to buy foods that are not seasoned and instead season them with spices, herbs, lemon and salt-free seasoning blends.
While you are cutting back in so much of your diet, you should reward yourself daily with some dark chocolate. This is not going to set you back at all because it is also prescribed to lower blood pressure.
Dark chocolates contain flavanols. These flavanols make blood vessels more elastic.
The chocolate must contain at least 70% cocoa. If you eat half an ounce of this dark chocolate a day you may see a decrease in pressure.
There are also many supplements out there that can help you lower your blood pressure. One such supplement is coenzyme Q10.
This antioxidant is required for energy production and it dilates blood vessels. Helping the blood vessels in your heart dilate will ease some of the burden that the heart feels.
Lowering the amount of caffeine you consume will also help you decrease your blood pressure. The caffeine tightens blood vessels and magnifies the effects of stress.
If you are drinking coffee consistently try to drink more decaf. It may also be very beneficial to start drinking tea instead of coffee.
All in all, high blood pressure is very avoidable. If you find yourself having hypertension take the time and the energy to lower the pressure on your cardiovascular system. Jack R. Landry has worked as a nurse practitioner for the last 16 years. He has worked in local clinics and the ER and recommends (http://livingwithoutdisease.com) for heart disease remedies.
Distributed by http://www.ContentCrooner.com
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