Lowering The Risk Of High Blood
High Blood Pressure or Hypertension is caused by the high pressure in the arteries which carry blood from the heart to the whole body. It is also called as the silent killer because it shows no symptoms in its initial stages; it is only when an organ of the body is damaged that the patient realizes that he has high blood pressure. The good news is, the risk can be lowered by exercising and eating a healthy diet. Exercise also helps boost the effectiveness of medicine being taken for hypertension.
Find activities that are fun that involve exercise that can be done on most days of the week. Activities like walking around the mall with family or friends. Also, when going to the mall, try parking the car at the end of the parking lot to increase activity. Doing household chores like cleaning the house, gardening, washing the windows or carrying the groceries can also be a form of exercise and benefit the heart.
Go to the gym. Going to the gym is not really the only means of becoming active but most people go there because they seem to be more focused because of the environment in it. Also, there is always a trainer that can guide you on how to use the equipment properly to avoid injury. A home gym can also be created if you don’t have time or don’t like to go to a gym. Simply purchase a step bench, some weights, exercise bands and a yoga ball and use them daily. A treadmill or stationary bike can also increase the body’s endurance and help burn fat faster. Always remember, warm up before every exercise and cool down after. These will help in increasing and decreasing your heart rate gradually. And the most important thing when exercising is to know your body’s limitation. If the exercise or activity hurts, make you feel dizzy or the chest hurts, stop and find other activities that do not cause these. If one cannot tolerate the heat, swimming can be an alternative. Swimming relaxes the blood vessels and lower the pulse rate and blood pressure.
Being overweight increases the risk of having hypertension. Eat a healthy diet. Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy can lower the systolic pressure by 8 to 14 points. When done together with proper exercise, this can lower body weight because you will be taking in fewer calories. Also try to stay away from salt and substitute it with herbs when preparing food. The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure also recommends moderate alcohol consumption, about two drinks for men and one drink for women. 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor define a drink.
Before getting into any physical activity or abruptly changing your diet, check in first with your doctor and ask him what activities you can do and should not do. A dietician can also help plan what kind of meal is right. Monitoring the blood pressure is also very important. This can be done throughout the day using the Omron Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor since it is small and easy to use.
