Lowering High Blood Pressure Is Vital

By Kathy Forcey

There are many ways of lowering high blood pressure if you should suffer from hypertension. High blood pressure means that the pressure in your arteries is higher then normal, normal blood pressure is 120/80 or lower and high blood pressure is anything above--0/90.

The blood pressure measurement is a combination of the systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. When the heart contracts the systolic pressure measures the force of blood in the arteries and the diastolic pressure measures the force of the blood in the arteries while the heart pauses to rest after each beat. The combination of these two give your blood pressure.

It is important to lower your blood pressure because it can cause an increase in the chances of developing or having a stroke, eye damage, brain damage, heart disease, kidney disease and/or a hardening of arteries. You need to keep track of your blood pressure because many people do not experience symptoms and organ failure is a very real possibility which occurs as a result of prolonged and untreated high blood pressure.

Once diagnosed, there are several options available to for lowering high blood pressure. As a first step you can make some lifestyle changes which include eating a healthy diet. The types of food you eat will affect your blood pressure and switching your diet to high in fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and low in fatty foods, red meat and dairy products is recommended. Consuming too much salt can lead to high blood pressure so cutting out sodium can also help.

Being overweight will also increase your blood pressure so maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight can help your blood pressure. Drinking too much alcohol and smoking have also been known to increase your blood pressure thus stopping smoking and reducing your alcohol consumption can decrease your high blood pressure.

You can use medically-prescribed drugs for lowering high blood pressure as most medications are very effective. Beta-blockers lower blood pressure by causing your heart to relax and beat slower. Diuretics work on the kidneys instead of the heart and flush out excess water and salt that may be causing your high blood pressure. Sometimes high blood pressure can be caused by hormones and if this is the cause then a hormone inhibitor called angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor can be used.

Calcium channel blockers stop calcium from entering muscle cells in the heart which causes the heart and blood vessels to relax. Alpha blockers reduce nerve control of the blood vessels so blood can easily flow through the vessels. Alpha-beta-blockers work just like alpha blockers but they also slow down your heart so less blood is pumped through the blood vessels. - 30310

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here