Are you one of the estimated 20 million Americans who have high blood pressure but is doing nothing to treat it? You do know what the consequences of not reducing your blood pressure are right? Those consequences read like a scene out of ER. Heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and now high diastolic blood pressure is being looked at as a possible contributor to Alzheimer’s.
What was that really good reason for doing nothing again?
High blood pressure is endemic in the United States. Over 60 million Americans have it and fully a third is doing nothing about it. Probably the biggest reason that some ignore this very dangerous condition is that it has no outward symptoms. It may take years of abusing your blood vessels before the affects of high pressure manifest themselves as a heart attack or worse.
Out of sight out of mind is not a valid strategy when treating high blood pressure.
The really frustrating part for public health officials is that this condition can be prevented, controlled and even reversed in 90% of the cases. And it can be done naturally without medication.
Think about that for a moment. If you had cancer would you be ignoring it? If you had cancer and there was a way to control it or reverse it without using chemo or radiation would you ignore it?
Then why are you ignoring your high blood pressure?
The American Heart Association endorses changes in lifestyle over medication when treating high blood pressure. Changes in diet and exercise can quickly and dramatically reduce both systolic and diastolic pressure. This isn’t rocket science and it’s not difficult to do. All it takes is a little knowledge and a little commitment. It doesn’t require life changing behavior. Every little bit you do to lower your pressure counts.
Can you do any of these?
Walk for 10 to 30 minutes each day (it doesn’t all have to be at the same time)
Cut back on salt by eating out less.
Eat a banana a day.
Limit your alcohol intake to two drinks a day.
At a fresh fruit daily.
Substitute fish, poultry or lean white meat instead of beef three times a week
Take a garlic supplement daily.
There’s a ton more you could do but if you can do half the things on this list you can control your pressure. Can you do that?
What are you waiting for? Take responsibility for your health. Do it for yourself, do it for your family or do it for your friends. Just do it.
Just imagine knowing without a doubt exactly what will and won’t have a positive effect on your efforts to treating blood pressure?
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Normal blood pressure has a systolic reading of less than 120 and a diastolic of less than 80. (Though normal can vary from person to person. Ask your doctor or other health care professional what is normal for you).
Hypertension is a systolic reading of 140 OR more or a diastolic reading of 90 or more.
Treatment of hypertension includes:
Loosing weight (even just a few pounds can help)
Exercise
Diet changes
Medications
There are currently eight types of medications used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure).
Central acting medications â these directly affect your nervous system to reduce nerve signals that cause your blood vessels to constrict. Example â clonidine.
Diuretics â these are better known as âwater pillsâ. These help your body eliminate excess water in your body by urinating it out. Examples â Furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide.
Direct vasodilators â relax the blood vessel wallsâ muscles â thus dilating them. Examples â minoxidil and hydralazine
Angiotensin â converting enzyme inhibitors â these keep your body from producing a hormone that causes the blood vessels to constrict. Examples â lisinopril, quinapril, and benazepril (and other medications with the ending of the word = â¦pril)
Beta â blockers â these slow the heart rate. This causes less force to be exerted on your blood vessel walls and reduces blood pressure. Examples include â atenolol, propranolol, and carvedilol (and other medications with the ending of the word = â¦.olol
Angiotensin II receptor blockers â these protects your body from a hormone that causes the blood vessels to constrict. Examples â irbesartan, candesartan, and olmesartan (and other medications with ending of the word = â¦..sartan).
Calcium channel blockers â these keep your blood vessels from constricting by keeping calcium from entering your bodyâs cells. Examples â diltiazem, felodipine, nicardipine, and verapamil.
Alpha blockers â these help relax blood vessels by reducing nerve signals. Examples â doxazosin, terazosin, and prazosin (and other medications with the ending of the word = â¦.zosin).
If you receive a new prescription from your doctor â make sure to take the medication as prescribed.
The carbohydrate and diabetes series are part of a book. If you interested in obtaining a copy email me at: LuYoungRN@yahoo.com
Lu Young, RN, holds an advanced degree in nursing. She has worked in the nursing field for more than ten years. She has provided patient educational materials for the last six years. These educational materials are on a variety subjects such as diabetes, nutrition, exercise, and medications. Ms. Young feels that knowledge is not only power, but can set you free of many of the worries and fears that come from ignorance. So by learning all you can about a subject, you will gain the power to take action. Ms. Young has written a series of articles on nutrition for several online sites. She is working on a book on carbohydrates to be the first in a series of three. The other two topics are on diabetes and exercise and diabetes and medications. So look for these other topics to be coming soon.
Ms. Young owns several Boston Terriers. You can check out her website at http://www.bostonterrierville.com
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