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High Blood Pressure - Solutions & Answers

How serious is high blood pressure? Very serious. Currently 60 million people living in the United States have high blood pressure.  That works out to be 1 in 4 adults.  That means you have a 25% chance of having high blood pressure, and means it is almost a certainty that someone you know or love has a problem with high blood pressure. The risk of dying from a heart attack goes up exponentially if you are diagnosed with high blood pressure. Following are some facts you should know regarding high blood pressure . . .

 

Salt:

First, take a good look at your salt consumption. Some people have what is known as a "salt sensitivity." This simply means that blood pressure rises with too much salt intake as compared to others who are unaffected by salt consumption. The most salt you want to consume during the day is 2400mg (less than a teaspoon.) Find other ways of flavoring your food if you're a heavy salt user. Places to look at for high salt content include canned foods, fast foods, soft drinks, chips and packaged meat slices.To be on the safe side try to eat foods that have less than 200mg of sodium per serving. Read the food label meticulously!

Caffeine:

Second is your caffeine intake. If you are drinking more than two cups of coffee a day you might be setting a pattern for hypertension. It is widely known that coffee raises blood pressure. If you are in the habit of drinking lots of coffee through out the day on a daily bases you are basically training the body to be in a state of hypertension/ high blood pressure.Coffee can raise blood pressure as much as 10 to 20 points. Although it is easier said than done have a green tea or water to replace one of your coffees.

Stress:

Finally, reduce your stress levels. It is important for to find a way to minimize the amount of stress in your life. On going stress causes your heart to beat at faster rate causing an increase in blood volume in the circulatory system. This causes an increase in force against the blood vessels leading to a rise in blood pressure. The key here is to find a coping mechanism for the stress. A simple solution to this problem is deep breathing.For example, breathe in for a count of three and breathe out for a count of three. You can do this for ten to fifteen minutes.

Mastering these three lifestyle habits will definitely bring your blood pressure down naturally without the use (and side effects) of hypertension medication.



 


What Can I do about my high blood pressure?


First and foremost you need to realize that stress and anxiety have a strong correlation with hypertension. This means that anything that you can do to lower your stress levels would be very beneficial for you.



Secondly I suggest that you readjust your diet in order to avoid saturated fats and excess salt. If you tend to have more than one alcoholic drink per day you should also consider curbing your drinking habits



The third thing that you need to do is to make sure that you are getting plenty of potassium and magnesium. These two nutrients have been proven to lower hypertension and help you live a much more normal and healthier lifestyle.