High blood pressure or commonly known as hypertension is the occurrence of the high force exerted against the walls of the arteries during blood flow. Hypertension has affected more than 8 millions people of Malaysia, from young to old, men and women, all races in Malaysia. The care for a person afflicted by hypertension can be a little bit tricky as it need constant care and treatments
So, we think it is time we educate ourselves on how to care for the sick or for ourselves if we caught the ailment ourselves. To help you start up, read on our other blog post on the “Hypertension : Cause, Symptoms, Types and Treatment”. And when you’re done, read up on this article on how to control high blood pressure.
Regular Monitoring and Checkups
Keep a blood pressure monitor in your household for easy self-checkup. No, we didn’t mean you don’t need any doctors to treat this illness of yours. We’re just saying that it’s wise to keep your blood pressure in check from time to time in order to see your progress. Whether there’s any improvements, or you need to find out what went wrong.
Make an appointments for regular checkups with your doctors. Sure, you found that your day to day blood pressure is all good now, but that doesn’t mean you can keep the doctor away at this point. You need a professional point of view in order of way how to control high blood pressure, and who knows best than an expert doctor?
Keep an Eye on Your Waistline
Hypertension deteriorates as the affected’s weight rise up more than the ideal weight. Being just a little bit overweight would risk you of having troubled breathing while you were sleeping or in other words sleep apnea. Sleep apnea would raises blood pressure even more and we don’t even want that to ever happen.
Keeping your weight at an ideal one is the most effective method how to control high blood pressure. Generally, you would reduce the blood pressure by 1 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) with each kilogram of weight you lose. Keep your waistline small by squeezing in some medium-intensity exercise, at least 150 minutes per week. Also, check your waistline regularly – too much fat in your love handles, you put yourself at a greater risk of high blood pressure;
- Men’s waist shouldn’t be more than 40 inches (102 centimeters).
- Women’s waist should be lower than 35 inches (89 centimeters).
Plan a Healthy Diet
How to control high blood pressure? Well by consuming a healthy-filled diet such as whole grains, colourful fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products and no saturated fat. It is said by consuming these delightful healthy diet, you would be able to lower your blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg. This diet is called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH for short.
Changing up your diet when you least expect it can be hard, so follow this tip and you can adapt in no time:
- Keep a food diary to write what you eat. It helps you monitor what food you ate, how much, when and why.
- Gobble up some potassium from fruits and vegetables while you’re at it as it is claimed to lessen the effects on blood pressure.
- Shop smart and keep an eye to the food labels, and be strong in motivating yourself to stick with your healthy eating plan while you’re dining out.
Lower Your Sodium Intake
Since sodium plays a big part in the ups and the downs of your blood pressure, it’s no wonder id lowering your sodium intake is one way how to control high blood pressure. Even reducing a small amount in your diet can improve your body’s health while simultaneously decrease your blood pressure to approximately 5 to 6 mm Hg.
Reduce it in your own pace until your palate is able to adjust for the lack of salt in your food. Consider these tips in decreasing sodium in your daily diet, in order to control hypertension:
- Read food labels. Choose the alternatives which are low-sodium content whenever it’s possible.
- Eat fewer processed foods as they were overly added during processing.
- Avoid seasoning with salt as 1 teaspoon equals to 2,300 mg of sodium. Use herbs and spices instead to add that nice flavour to your dishes.
Cut Down Your Coffee
Caffeine’s role in the increase and the decrease of blood pressure is still debated. For those who rarely drinks coffee will see a change of 10 mm Hg increase in their blood pressure compared to those who drinks coffee regularly. Although it is not yet determined, it is possible that the long term effects of caffeine would cause a hike in the blood pressure.
Well, to prove it more effectively, check your pressure within 30 minutes of drinking a caffeinated beverage. If it does increase by 5 to 10 mm Hg, bad news for you, it is time to cut down on your morning coffees in order to control your suspected high blood pressure. For a clearer view of the effects of coffee, consult your doctor and you might get the answer.
Reduce Your Drinking Habits
Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. Well, depending on how much you drink per day. Moderate consumption of alcohol would help in lowering your blood pressure by 4 mm Hg. Typically a glass or two of wine, beer, or any alcoholic drinks, would do the trick in helping in how to control high blood pressure.
More than that, expect your blood pressure to rise up and you feeling woozy within minutes after you drank the alcoholic beverages. That protective effects only works in small amount of alcohol. Control your hypertension by reducing your drinking habits. Don’t let peer pressure force you to drink more than you should.
End Smoking
Everyone knows the dangers of smoking tobacco or commonly smoked by the Malaysian people – cigarettes. It does not help at all in controlling hypertension. Instead, it induce a variety of cancer as well many other types of illness such as heart diseases, infertility, erectile dysfunction, diabetes and also, we can’t leave this one out of the list, hypertension.
Each huff and puff of a cigarette increases the blood pressure even after minutes you finished. Stopping smoking altogether will help return the blood pressure at its normal state. Since, there are nonexistent benefits of smoking cigarettes, quitting smoking can improve your overall health and helps you live longer compared to those who smokes daily as a routine.
Manage Stress Wisely
Stress in medium rate can cause you to be more motivated. In high rate, it could contribute in the rise of your blood pressure. Occasional stress from eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol, or smoking would also cause high blood pressure so get out of your way to avoid those things.
If you’re stressed out is caused by external factors such as work, family, finances or illness, take some time to take a breather in order to control your hypertension. Reflect back and come up with ways to solve them. If you can’t solve them right away, solve them later. Don’t burden your heart and mind thinking of all those demanding things simultaneously. It’s not healthy for your wellbeing.
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