Medicinenet offers several tips to help manage blood pressure. If you have problems with blood pressure management, perhaps these tips can help.
Remember, always check with your health care professional first before changing your routine, especially if you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure:
• Aim for a healthy weight. If you are overweight or obese, carrying this extra weight increases your risk of high blood pressure.
One way to determine if you need to lose weight is to find out your body mass index or BMI. If your BMI is above the healthy range (i.e., 25 or greater), or if your waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men) you probably have excess abdominal weight and you may benefit from weight loss especially if you have other risk factors.
• Increase your physical activity. Do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as walking, most days of the week. You can do 30 minutes in three 10-minute segments.
• Choose foods low in salt and sodium. Most of us should consume no more than 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams) of sodium a day.
That equals six grams, about one teaspoon of table salt a day. For someone with high blood pressure, the doctor may advise less. Read nutrition labels. Almost all packaged foods contain sodium. Every time you prepare or eat a packaged food, know how much sodium is in one serving.
• If you consume alcohol, consume moderate amounts. For men, this is less than two 12 oz servings of beer, or two 5 oz glasses of wine, or two 1 1/2 oz servings of “hard” alcohol a day.
Women or lighter weight people should have not more than a single serving of any one of these beverages in a given day.
