What Can Raise Your Blood Pressure?

Are you concerned about what might increase your blood pressure? There are quite a few things that can factor in to raising your blood pressure. Luckily you can fix many of these with a few lifestyle changes.

If you do not watch your blood pressure frequently, you might not even be aware that you have it. It can creep up on you or just increase over the years. It all depends on many different factors.

If you are overweight you are at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. You might already know this and you might not. If this is the case for you, consult your doctor and see what he might recommend for you. Losing at least ten pounds can significantly lower your blood pressure.

An unhealthy diet or lack of physical activity or exercise can also put you at risk for high blood pressure. Try to exercise at least thirty minutes a day even if you have to space the time out. Eating less salt and more vegetables and fruits can help lower your blood pressure as well. Try to incorporate this into your present diet and you will see the results rather quickly.

Stress plays a huge factor in high blood pressure and unfortunately everyone is stressed at some point in their lives. If you deal with a high amount of stress, consider relaxation techniques. Do whatever you can that you know will calm you down and help relieve stress.

Using tobacco and alcohol raise your blood pressure. If you use either of these consider quitting. If you are unable to quit right away, limit your consumption of alcohol and use of tobacco. There are many over the counter and prescription products to help rid your self of these habits. Talk with your doctor of any concerns you might have.

Medical conditions also factor into high blood pressure along with your lifestyle. Kidney disease can result in high blood pressure as well as cause it. Sleeping disorders that interrupt your breathing during sleep will also raise your blood pressure. Talking with your doctor about your condition could benefit your disorder along with your blood pressure.

Certain medications and drugs can also raise your blood pressure. Certain types of anti-depressants will do this as well as certain cold medicines. Be aware of oral contraceptives, nasal decongestants, anorexia drugs and steroids. These can possibly raise your blood pressure as well so talk with your doctor before taking any of them if you are concerned.

While you can control most of the factors that raise your blood pressure there are some you cannot. For instance your race; African Americans are more prone to high blood pressure, people over fifty-five are at a higher risk, and your family history can play a role in your blood pressure as well. While you cannot control these factors you can easily try to help decrease your risk. Watch your diet, exercise, lifestyle habits, etc. Over time this may be very beneficial to you.

High blood pressure can cause strokes and even heart and kidney diseases. Leading a healthier life style can help you live longer and enjoy your time in a healthy state. Talk with your doctor about any questions or concerns you may have concerning your blood pressure. It is never too late to take control.

Lowering Your Blood Pressure

Do you have high blood pressure? Maybe you want to prevent getting high blood pressure, no matter what the case is, there are everyday things you can do. What you eat, how much you exercise, even your habits can effect your blood pressure.

If you see your doctor regularly you more than likely have your blood pressure checked every time. This is a necessary procedure to monitor your pressure and be sure you don’t have high blood pressure. There are different reasons one has high blood pressure and different things you can do to help lower it.

If you have high blood pressure it damages your blood vessels increasing your risk for stroke or heart and kidney diseases. In other words, having high blood pressure is very harmful to your health and you want to treat it right away.

Making lifestyle changes is the first way to go when you want to lower your blood pressure. If doing these simple changes does not help and you have to use medication, continue doing the changes along with the medication. The lifestyle changes alone may just not be enough and added with medication could help significantly.

If you use any tobacco of any kind, stop your use or decrease it significantly. Nicotine makes your blood vessels constrict resulting in a faster heart beat. This faster heart beat raises your blood pressure. You can easily find products that help quit smoking or help quit the use of other tobacco products.

If you are overweight you are at a high risk of high blood pressure. Start a diet program and start eating healthier. Exercising regularly is very beneficial to lowering your blood pressure. Plan an exercise routine and track your progress. This will show you what is working and what is not.

Eat plenty of fruit and veggies and try a low fat diet. Try to stay clear of sodium, alcohol and caffeine or at least limit your intake. Sodium isn’t harmful to everyone’s blood pressure but until you know for sure, it is better to take precaution.

Alcohol can cause high blood pressure in some people as well. Try to only drink one or two alcoholic beverages a day. If you know this is increasing your blood pressure, try to quit altogether. Your health might be at risk.

Stress can sometimes affect your blood pressure. Stress is very common and there are millions of ways to help reduce stress. Try some relaxing techniques first and if none of these work talk to your doctor. They may have some better suggestions.

If all else fails you may have to turn to medication. There are many types of medicine to help you lower your blood pressure. You may end up taking this medicine for the rest of your life but if it helps keep you healthy, it is worth it.

If you are still unsure of how to handle your blood pressure talking with your doctor is the best solution. Tell them of your concerns or ask them any questions you might have. No question is stupid when it comes to your health. You could even do some research online and find out many things about blood pressure. You are not the only one curious about taking care of your health. Take the necessary steps to live a long healthy life.

High Blood Pressure 101

Knowing about your body can be very beneficial to your health as you age. Knowing about your blood pressure can help prevent strokes, heart disease and kidney disease. In this article you will find everything you should know about your blood pressure.

Anyone can have high blood pressure. It doesn’t matter your age, race, ethnicity or gender. Many people suffer from high blood pressure and have a higher risk of strokes and heart diseases than those with regular blood pressure.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. Your blood pressure is always rising and falling throughout the day and if it rises and stays that way over time, you have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is usually referred to as hypertension. When you have high blood pressure it puts more pressure on the heart, making it work harder than usual. This is why you end up at risk for strokes or heart disease.

What is the normal blood pressure level?

The normal blood pressure level is less than 120 over 80 or less. The first number is your systolic pressure and the second number is your diastolic pressure. Your numbers are read 120 over 80, etc. If your pressure is 140 over 90 or higher you have high blood pressure.

What is systolic blood pressure? This is the force of blood in your arteries when your heart is beating.

What is diastolic blood pressure? This is the force of blood in your arteries when your heart is relaxing.

What are the risk factors of high blood pressure?

The most common risks of high blood pressure are stroke and heart disease. There are a few other risk factors that can be modified and some that cannot be. The following are some risks:

Tobacco
Physical Inactivity
Diabetes
Abnormal Cholesterol
Being overweight

Who can get high blood pressure?

Unfortunately anyone can get high blood pressure but it is more common among African Americans. Nearly one in three American adults has high blood pressure. African Americans also have a much higher death rate from kidney disease and stroke than white Americans. Even so, with treatment you can help lower your blood pressure.

How can I lower my blood pressure?

Fortunately there are many different ways of helping to lower your blood pressure. Exercise is a great way to lower it. Doing physical activity will make your heart stronger over time. If you have a stronger heart it can pump blood easier lessening your risks of stroke and kidney diseases. It is never too late to start exercising!

If you are concerned about your blood pressure consult your physician. Ask any and all questions you might have and find the best way for you to lower it. If all regular ways fail, consider medication. Talk with your doctor about your health and lifestyle so he can choose the best medicine for you. If you want to live a healthy life, taking control of your blood pressure is very important.

What Should You Know If You Have High Blood Pressure?

What Should You Know If You Have High Blood Pressure?

If you are battling high blood pressure there are some things you will want to know. First thing you want to understand is what the numbers mean. Your blood pressure will read with a top and bottom number. The top is your systolic pressure and the bottom number is your diastolic pressure.

Normal blood pressure is 120/80 so if your blood pressure reads 130/90 you are at risk for developing high blood pressure. This reading is called prehypertension which is basically a stage before developing high blood pressure.

By having your blood pressure checked and monitored often you can easily lower it where it needs to be. The best way to do this is by maintaining or adopting a healthier lifestyle. Have you always had normal blood pressure until recently?

If this is the case, consider what you have recently started doing different that may have caused it to rise. Did you change your diet? Have you been exercising less? Maybe you are on a medication; some medications can cause your blood pressure to rise.

If you do have high blood pressure you can easily monitor it at home if you choose. If you do this you still want to keep your regular doctor visits. You can share your own results and you can both see what is and isn’t working for you.

If you are on other medications consult your doctor. Chances are one of these could be raising your blood pressure and you want to take control as soon as possible. If your blood pressure gets too high without proper treatment you are at more risk of having a stroke or heart and kidney diseases.

If you have recently changed your diet you should talk to your doctor, especially if your blood pressure has risen since then. Lots of salt and sodium can cause high blood pressure and not enough fresh fruits and vegetables. If this is the case, try to limit your salt intake and get more vegetables in your diet.

Also physical inactivity can be a cause for high blood pressure. Have you recently stopped doing regular every day physical activity? If so, consider starting again. You might have stopped because of an inevitable reason; broken bone, etc. If this is the case talk with your physician. Together you can find a way to still get a little bit of physical activity in your daily routine.

You also want to cut off or limit your use of tobacco and alcohol consumption. Many people do not realize these cause high blood pressure. There are many over the counter medicines and even doctor prescribed medicines to help you quit smoking. There are also many different resources to help you quit drinking.

If your doctor prescribes blood pressure medicine for you, you want to be sure and remember to take it. Some people are bad at remembering to take medication. There are many different ways you can help yourself remember.

You take the risk of a stroke or heart disease by not taking your blood pressure medication. This should be reason enough to take your medicine, but sometimes people just forget. While it sounds like reason enough, if you are not used to taking daily medication it is rather easy to forget.

If you have certain questions or concerns talk with your doctor. They will gladly answer any questions you have and do their best to get your blood pressure at a normal rate again.