The other day, someone discussed his physical condition by saying, “I go to the gym, and I never add salt into my diet. So why do I have high blood pressure?” Despite its astonishing prevalence of one in three adults globally, many people struggle with the diagnosis of high blood pressure or hypertension. It’s worth exploring why, because managing your physical and mental health is crucial for optimal blood pressure control.
Once you know that you have high blood pressure you can take steps to lower it naturally. For a healthy life, you need to check your blood pressure regularly as high blood pressure is the mother of mother of many other diseases.
In the following lines, we discuss what high blood pressure is, how can you recognize it and hw could you reduce your blood pressure naturally.
Certain features make any diagnosis easier to accept:
- First, people are more likely to accept a diagnosis if they have symptoms. A person with cough and fever will believe a diagnosis of pneumonia. But someone who feels fine would not.
- Next, people more readily accept a diagnosis if it is not serious. Most people won’t question the diagnosis of an athlete’s foot, because creams can cure it. Diagnoses that carry worse prognoses are usually harder to receive.
- Finally, people accept a diagnosis better when they understand its cause. Some diseases have clear causes: Down syndrome and older maternal age, HIV infection, and contaminated needles. A smoker who learns he has lung cancer may not be shocked. But non-smokers who receive this diagnosis usually ask, “Why me?”
People diagnosed with hypertension are often baffled, and many ask, “Why me?” This doubt makes sense, in light of the principles stated above. Symptoms make a diagnosis more real. But unlike many other illnesses, hypertension rarely causes symptoms. In fact, it is ominously called the “silent killer.” Some people develop headaches when their blood pressure rises into dangerous territory, but in others, hypertension can go undetected until it causes a lethal heart attack. Fortunately, it is easy and painless to measure blood pressure. You must check your blood pressure every now and then if you are serious about your health.
When doctors deliver the diagnosis of hypertension, they package it with serious complications. These include heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke. Doctors discuss risks to motivate their patients, but sometimes end up creating fear instead. And fear can lead to denial. Is hypertension serious? Yes, if left untreated. But when blood pressure is controlled, the risks are greatly reduced. The important message is that treating hypertension in a timely manner can prevent severe complications and add dramatically to life expectancy.
Last, knowing the cause of the disease is helpful. In reality, we rarely find just one cause for anyone’s hypertension. There are almost always multiple factors at work. Some cases can’t be prevented, like genetics and age. High blood pressure often runs in families. Genetic risk is complex, probably resulting from a combination of harmful mutations in risk genes and silencing of protective genes. There is nothing we can do to change our genetics, just as we can’t stop aging. With aging comes a universal increase in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the risk for heart disease. On the other hand, tackling modifiable risk factors for high blood pressure, for example, losing weight and getting more exercise, often produces great benefits.
Your odds of developing high blood pressure are pretty high
To answer the question “Why me?” it helps to know the data. The Framingham Heart Study followed a subset of 1,300 participants ages 55 to 65 who did not have hypertension at baseline. Their remarkable finding: the lifetime risk of developing hypertension was 90%. So even if you haven’t developed high blood pressure by middle age, chances are nine out of ten that you will at some point. This number is most likely so high because more of us are overweight and are living longer.
So instead of being surprised if you are diagnosed with hypertension, it is actually more logical to be amazed if you never develop it. On an optimistic note, we have seen a decline in the frequency of severe hypertension. We owe this fall to better treatment. So if you learn you have high blood pressure, the most important response is to accept the diagnosis. Hypertension can’t remedy itself; your commitment is the first step toward great blood pressure control.
Hypertension is a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risk of heart, brain, kidney, and other diseases. An estimated 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension. Hypertension is the major cause of premature death worldwide. One of the global targets is to reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 25% by 2025.
It is a dangerous condition, even more so because it is often symptomless. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the vessels as it flows throughout the body. If it is consistently too high, it can damage them and the circulatory system as a whole. It is often referred to as the “silent killer,” and it could lead to strokes, vision loss, heart attacks, and heart failure or kidney disease if not managed well.
“Hypertension is a known risk factor for heart attacks and stroke,” according to Matthew Sorrentino, MD, a Chicago cardiologist and one of the medical experts at Best Doctors. “The absolute risk for a heart attack or stroke will be dependent on the age of the patient, how long hypertension has been present, and the degree of elevation of blood pressure,” he added.
Understanding blood pressure readings
The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get it checked. If your doctor finds elevated rates, it is important to monitor your numbers. Many pharmacies have blood pressure machines for you to measure yourself, and there are also many personal monitors available in the market.
The top number, called systolic pressure, measures the vessel pressure when your heart beats whilst the second, called diastolic pressure, measures when your heart rests between beats. You should seek medical care immediately if you are in hypertensive crisis, which means, readings of 180/120 or greater.
- Low blood pressure – less than 90/60 mm/Hg
- Normal blood pressure – Less than 140/90 mm/Hg
- Possible hypertension – Between 140-180/between 90-110 mm/Hg
- Severe hypertension – Higher than 180/110 mm/Hg
How To Prevent & Control High Blood Pressure Naturally?
The most critical component of preventing high blood pressure is a healthy lifestyle. Once you’re diagnosed, proper management can reduce the risk of stroke and other serious cardiovascular disorders. Lower your risk of hypertension or complications by taking the following steps:
- Keep a healthy weight and watch your waistline
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day. You should do so at least 6 days a week.
- Eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, and limit the usage of alcohol. A better option would be to completely eliminate the intake of alcohol to prevent many other diseases as well. A lot of people do not consume alcohol for religious reasons. Whatever your religious orientation maybe you surely reduce your high blood pressure if you stop using alcohol.
- Reduce and manage stress
- Do not smoke. It is dangerous for your health.
- Reduce sodium or salt
- Cut back on caffeine
- Monitor your blood pressure at home and visit your doctor regularly if it is continuously at high levels
What If I Cannot Reduce Blood Pressure Anyway?
Sometimes lifestyle changes mentioned above are not helpful in reducing your blood pressure you have two choices. The first is that you may start taking any herbal medicine such as Blood Cleanser. It is easily available in our stores. While using this product, you may want to see your doctor if you are still uncomfortable with your physical health. Your doctor might prescribe you medication to lower your blood pressure.
Because sometimes there are other underlying causes for your high blood pressure, it is important that your physician has ruled out these before he or she is starting your medical treatment. Apart from taking medicines recommended by your doctor, you may want to use Blood Cleanser, a product Kanpo Lab has developed with the help of some of the top research scientists from Australian and Malaysian universities. Please click on this link to get more info on the product.
Leave a Reply