Smart Lifestyle Choices Can Reduce Risk for High Blood Pressure

May Is High Blood Pressure Education Month

You may have inherited your blue eyes from your mother and brown hair from your father. And everyone says you look just like one of your grandparents. But you could have inherited more than your looks from the members of your family tree. You may also be carrying on a family tradition of high blood pressure.

Blood pressure measures the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries (systolic or top number) and when the heart rests between beats (diastolic or bottom number). A reading of 120/80 mmHg is normal; a measurement consistently greater than 130/80 mmHg is considered high blood pressure.

Stunning as it may sound, nearly half of Americans ages 20 years and up – or more than 122 million people – have high blood pressure, according to a 2023 report from the American Heart Association. On top of that, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 46% of adults with high blood pressure don't know they have it. If you have a close family member with the condition, then you run a higher risk of developing high blood pressure yourself. Other uncontrollable risk factors for the condition include race and increasing age. African Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure, develop it sooner, and be affected more severely than Caucasians. The condition also increases with age, occurring more often in people over the age of 35.

“Some risk factors for developing high blood pressure cannot be controlled, including heredity, race and age,” says Christopher Gange, MD, cardiologist on staff at MetroWest Medical Center. “But you can take steps to help delay or prevent the onset of high blood pressure by making healthy lifestyle choices.” Dr. Gange offers the following tips to help control high blood pressure:

• Limit your salt intake. In general, daily salt intake for adults should not exceed 2,300 mg of sodium per day.
• Eat heart healthy. Focus on an eating plan that includes fruits, vegetables and whole grains and also incorporate low-fat or fat-free dairy products, as well as fish, poultry and nuts.
• Be physically active. Approximately 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity is recommended daily or on most days of the week.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Losing weight can help reduce the strain on your heart if you are overweight or obese.
• Take medications as prescribed. Your doctor may prescribe medications as part of your treatment plan if lifestyle changes alone do not control your high blood pressure.
• Limit alcoholic beverages. More than two drinks per day for men and one a day for women could contribute to high blood pressure.
• Stop smoking. Smoking causes a spike in your blood pressure and raises the chances of stroke, heart disease, cancer and peripheral arterial disease.
• High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a silent killer that mostly requires lifelong treatment once it is diagnosed.

“By understanding your risk factors for high blood pressure, you can reduce your chance of developing the condition,” adds Dr. Gange. “Making small changes to your lifestyle can potentially avoid life-threatening complications such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure.”

For more information about risk factors for high blood pressure, and to help prevent an ambush with six lifestyle tips, visit here.