High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a condition that affects a lot of people. How you live your life makes all the difference. Even though you can’t change some risk factors, like your age, family medical history, or race, there are many healthy habits that can help you avoid or at least reduce high blood pressure. Dr. Jacob Hascalovici, MD, PhD, the Clearing Chief Medical Officer, explains what you need to know about high blood pressure and how to lower your risk.
Dr. Hascalovici says that you should know that you can have high blood pressure and still not be aware of it. That’s why it’s so important to get regular health check-ups. If your doctor doesn’t tell you the results of your blood pressure test, you should ask. High blood pressure is more likely to happen in women and people who eat a lot of salt.
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Dr. Hascalovici explains that high blood pressure can make you tired and cause pain. It also increases your chances of having a heart attack or stroke. Leaving your high blood pressure unchecked and untreated can damage your kidneys, heart, and eyes.
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Doctors say binge drinking is strongly linked to high blood pressure. Dr. Nisha Jhalani, director of clinical and educational services at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, says that too much alcohol can cause high blood pressure, stroke, and heart failure in people who binge drink. Atrial fibrillation or irregular heart rhythm can also be caused by binge drinking. You don’t have to have an extremely strict lifestyle, but the most important thing to remember is that alcohol is fine in moderation, just like everything else.
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High blood pressure is linked to not being able to sleep well at night. Your blood pressure may go up if you don’t get enough sleep, says Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez. People who sleep less than six hours may see their blood pressure rise more quickly. If you have high blood pressure already, not getting enough sleep may make it worse. Reducing high blood pressure will definitely help you sleep better at night.
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Stress can result in high blood pressure if you don’t deal with it on time. Managing stress is 70% about how you live and 30% about what you eat, says Luke Laffin, MD, a preventive cardiologist. He explains, “I always talk to patients about the impact of sleep on heart health and how stress impacts sleep. If stress and anxiety are leading to a lot of blood pressure elevation, we can try medications called beta-blockers. They’re not the first line of treatment for blood pressure in most people, but they can be helpful for people with significant stress and anxiety because they decrease your sympathetic nervous system activity and slow down your heart rate in stressful situations.”
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Experts say that if you experience trouble seeing, then it could be a sign of high blood pressure. Dr. William White, an optometrist with Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Texas, says that changes can be caused by diabetes or high blood pressure that affects the blood vessels. The blood vessels in the retina can stiffen and harden over time. They’ll cross and push against each other like two hoses in a small space. When things get really bad, some of the blood vessels will start leaking, resulting in some bleeding and leading to various eye problems. To avoid vision problems, it would be best to reduce high blood pressure.
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High blood pressure could cause breathing difficulties. Vallerie McLaughlin, MD, director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, identified the most common sign of pulmonary hypertension. When the right side of the heart is having trouble pushing blood through the lungs, so blood can’t get to the left side of the heart and the rest of the body, that’s when it becomes hard for you to breathe properly. It puts stress on the right side of the heart, which isn’t used to pushing against the high pressure.
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According to Dr. Hascalovici, your blood pressure rises when you eat excess salt because it makes your body retain water, which puts more pressure on your veins. Of course, eating too much salt is easy, but even if you only cut out a pinch of salt a day, it can help. To increase your efforts some more, cook at home when you can, using spices instead of salt to add flavor, and avoid highly processed foods, fast food, and things that are heavily salted.
The Mayo Clinic says, “Even a small reduction of sodium in the diet can improve heart health and reduce high blood pressure by about 5 to 6 mm Hg. However, the effect of sodium intake on blood pressure varies among groups of people. In general, limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day or less. However, a lower sodium intake — 1,500 mg daily or less — is ideal for most adults.”
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According to the Mayo Clinic says, it’s important to know how big your waist is. High blood pressure is more likely to happen if you carry too much weight around your waist. In general: If a man’s waist size is more than 40 inches (102 cm), he is at risk, while if a woman’s waist is more than 35 inches (89 centimetres), she is at risk.
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When you’re stressed, your body makes hormones to help you deal with a possible emergency or whatever is making you feel stressed. This makes your heart beat faster, among other things. High-stress levels can cause high blood pressure over time. Exercise, sleep, socializing with good friends, doing things that matter to you, and taking some quiet time to slow down can all help you deal with stress. Some people get massages, go for walks in nature, meditate, or use mind-body techniques to reduce stress and relax.
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