Key Takeaways
- Everything you need to know about high blood pressure
- Risk factors of high blood pressure
- Who’s at risk of high blood pressure and how to test your own
- Tips to preventing high blood pressure and associated risks
It is important to understand high blood pressure, its risks and its. But you can help prevent high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, with these recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
High blood pressure is incredibly common among adults in the United States and can be very dangerous when left untreated. It can be difficult to identify the symptoms of high blood pressure, but preventative care can be as simple as implementing a few lifestyle changes into your daily routine. Find out how to determine if you suffer from high blood pressure, and how you can manage, navigate, and avoid the risks.
What does high blood pressure really mean?
Healthy blood pressure levels fluctuate as you move through the usual emotions and activities of your day. Things like stress and exercise can raise your blood pressure levels temporarily, but when blood pressure is consistently high even when your body is at rest, this is known as hypertension, or high blood pressure. Hypertension affects 45% of adults in the US, but only 1 in 4 suffers properly manage their blood pressure levels.
The symptoms of high blood pressure can be hard to spot, but the risks associated with untreated hypertension can be serious and often fatal. This is why it’s imperative to understand the risk factors, keep an eye on your blood pressure, and practice healthy habits to aid in hypertension preventative care.
Health risks associated with hypertension
Hypertension is not an isolated health issue. The increased pressure on your arteries caused by hypertension can lead to blood vessel and organ damage, opening you up to a myriad of additional health concerns, including:
- Heart disease
- Heart attack or stroke
- Kidney disease
- Aneurysm
- Metabolic syndrome
- Dementia
When left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to these serious risks and more, but preventative care has been shown to drastically improve your chances of managing blood pressure levels and avoiding complications due to hypertension.
How to determine if you might be at risk
There are several factors that go into causing high blood pressure. While some people are genetically at risk, other causes include age, race, medical predispositions, lifestyle factors, or medications.
Age risk factors: As we age, our risk of hypertension increases. High blood pressure risks increase on average in men and women around the age of 45 years old.
Race risk factors: Risks of high blood pressure varies across different races and ethnicities, with Black Americans being the most at risk by 40.4% in comparison to white Americans at 27.4% and Mexican Americans at 26.1%, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Medical predisposition risk factors: Secondary hypertension is high blood pressure caused by an underlying medical condition. These conditions include certain kidney diseases, diabetes, and sleep apnea. High blood pressure can also be brought on in in some cases by pregnancy.
Lifestyle risk factors: Certain lifestyle factors can increase your risk of high blood pressure, such as smoking, obesity, poor diet, stress, and lack of exercise.
Medications: Certain pain relievers, birth control pills, antidepressants, cold medications, and decongestants can increase your risks of high blood pressure. Be sure to read your medication labels thoroughly and discuss any possible side effects with your doctor.
Knowing the risks and contributing factors that can lead to high blood pressure can help you determine how to manage and prevent hypertension.
5 tips to prevent high blood pressure
Preventative care is highly effective in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels and protecting yourself from the risks of high blood pressure. Here are 5 tips from the CDC you can implement in your life to help you avoid hypertension:
- Get your beauty sleep:Getting enough sleep has a wealth of health benefits, and lowering blood pressure is one of them. The CDC recommends 7–9 hours of sleep per night for adults over the age of 18.
- Enjoy a healthy diet (avoid foods high in salt, fat, and cholesterol): When attempting to manage your blood pressure levels with your diet, it’s important to incorporate foods high in protein, fiber, and potassium and to limit your sodium intake. Try the DASH Eating Plan (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) and include foods such as bananas, whole grains, leafy greens, lean proteins, and calcium-rich, low-fat dairy products.
- Maintain a healthy weight: Avoid obesity and keep your body at a healthy weight to avoid high blood pressure. You can determine a healthy weight for your body type by determining your BMI, consulting your physician, and engaging in routine, low-impact exercise.
- Limit smoking and alcohol consumption: Smoking and alcohol consumption can greatly increase your risk of high blood pressure, in addition to many other health issues. For proper hypertension prevention try to limit yourself to no more than 1–2 alcoholic drinks per day and abstain from smoking all together.
- Practice stress management: Stress and negative responses to stress can be contributing factors to high blood pressure, so practicing healthy stress management habits can aid in prevention. Next time you’re feeling stressed, try yoga, meditation, or an artistic outlet to help promote feelings of calmness and keep your blood pressure from increasing.
These lifestyle changes can aid in hypertension prevention, but sometimes it’s necessary to take your preventative care even further by consulting with your doctor to determine if hypertension medication may be right for you.
Manage your risks of hypertension with ModRN Health
Hypertension is not something to be taken lightly, but determining a proper treatment or preventative care plan can feel overwhelming. That’s where ModRN Health comes in. ModRN Health helps you identify the best treatment options to fit your budget and lifestyle. You’ll also have access to useful information on medications, side effects, and other risk factors that may affect you.
Find out more about ModRN Health here and gain easy access to the best and most affordable health care, plus SMS and email reminders to help you stay on top of your overall health.
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