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BLOOD PRESSURE
EAT PLENTY OF
· Fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, legumes, and dairy products for potassium.
· Recommended foods as part of the DASH diet

LIMIT
· Canned and other processed foods with added salt.
· Fatty foods.

AVOID
· Pickled and very salty foods.
· Excessive alcohol and caffeine.

As blood circulates through the body, it exerts varying degrees of force on artery walls; doctors refer to this as blood pressure. In this early stages, high blood pressure is symptomless, so many people don’t realize they have a potentially life-threatening disease. If the condition goes unchecked, high blood pressure damages the heart and blood vessels and can lead to a stroke, heart attack, and other serious consequences.

In about 5 percent of cases, there’s an underlying cause for high blood pressure; for example, a narrowed kidney artery, pregnancy, an adrenal gland disorder, or a drug side effect. Most often there is not identifiable cause; this is referred to as primary, or essential hypertension.

Blood pressure rises when the arterioles, the body’s smallest arteries, narrow or constrict, requiring the heart to beat more forcefully in order to pump blood through them. Increased blood volume, often due to the body’s tendency to retain excessive salt and fluids, raises blood pressure, so do high levels of adrenaline and other hormones that constrict blood vessels.

MONITOR UNDERLYING FACTORS
With age, blood pressure rises somewhat, but no one fully understand precisely what leads to hypertension, although a combination of factors seems to be involved. Because it tends to run in families, an inherited susceptibility is suspected. Diabetes, obesity and certain other disorders increase risk. Stress prompts a surge in adrenal hormones and a temporary rise in blood pressure; some researchers believe that constant stress may play a role in developing hypertension. Other contributors include hypertension. Other contributors include smokingl excessive alcohol, and a sedentary lifestyle.

DIET AND HYPERTENSION
Diet plays a role in both prevention and treatment of high blood pressure, experts now agree. Simple things can help keep your blood pressure in check.

LIMIT YOUR SALT INTAKE
A high-salt diet also contributes to be condition in people who have a genetic tendency to retain sodium; in these individuals, restriction of salt beginning at an early age reduces the risk of developing hypertension. A portion of the population, including older people and people with diabetes, appears to be particularly sensitive to sodium and may benefit significantly from eating low-sodium foods. Checks labels carefully-look for the term “sodium” to find hidden salt. In addition to avoiding salty and pickled foods, use herbs and spices in cooking.

KEEP YOUR WEIGHT DOWN
Being even slightly overweight contributes to hypertension; losing excess weight is often all that is needed to return blood pressure to normal even a modest weight loss will cause a drop in blood pressure.

EAT LESS FAT
A high-fat diet not only leads to weight gain but may also contribute to high blood pressure. This means cutting back on butter and margarine; switching to low-fat milk and other low-fat dairy products; choosing lean cuts of meat; and shifting to low-fat cooking methods, such as broiling instead of frying.

OTHER LIFESTYLE CHANGES
While a proper diet in instrumental in maintaining normal blood pressure, it should be combined with other lifestyle changes. One of the most important is regular aerobic exercise, which lowers blood pressure by conditioning the heart to work more efficiently. It your smoke, give up the habit. Nicotine raises blood pressure. Quitting can drop blood pressure by 10 points or more.

USE MEDICATIONS WITH CAUTION
Over-the-counter cold, allergy and diet pills and raise blood pressure. In some women, birth control pills, or estrogen replacement therapy, can cause high blood pressure.

REDUCE STRESS
Experts continue to debate the role of stress in hypertension. There is no doubt that stress temporarily raises blood pressure, and some experts think that it may have a long-term effect. Meditation, yoga, biofeedback training, self-hypnosis, and other relaxation techniques may help lower blood pressure.

DRUG THERAPY
Doctors usually recommend 6 months of life-style changes to see if mild to moderate hypertension returns to normal levels. If not, drug therapy is often instituted. There are dozens of antihypertensive drugs and doctors can usually find one or a combination that lowers blood pressure with minimal adverse side effects. The most widely used drugs are diuretics, which reduce salt and fluid volume by increasing the flow of urine. Some classes of drugs reduce the heart’s workload by helping to widen, or dilate, the arterioles to increase blood flow; others regulate nerve impulses to slow the pulse.
It is also important to treat disorders that contribute to high blood pressure; these include diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol, both of which compound the risk of developing heart problems. Dietary and other lifestyle changes that lower high blood pressure also help to control diabetes and blood cholesterol levels.