Uncontrolled high blood pressure,
commonly known as hypertension, has
been said to kill in at least eight
different ways.
They include stroke, diabetes, kidney
failure, heart attack, aneurysms, end-
stage liver failure, coronary heart
diseases and sudden death.
Emeritus Prof. of medicine, Oladipo
Akinkugbe, describes high blood
pressure as a condition that occurs
when there is excessive pressure on the
walls of the artery and adds that this
causes damage to the blood vessels, as
well as vital organs in the body when it
is not controlled.
Hypertension is also a major health
concern for Africans.
In Nigeria, about 57 million people are
estimated to be hypertensive with many
still undiagnosed.Akinkugbe says this
high incidence of hypertension is a
major reason why many die suddenly
from heart attack and stroke.
High blood pressure is preventable and
it is also manageable, so you need not
die from it if you make efforts to control
it.
According to Akinkugbe, one can live
over three decades with hypertension
without developing complications
associated with the condition, if
detected early and managed properly.
He adds, “I have patients I diagnosed
with high blood pressure 30 years ago
that are still alive today, because they
managed it by taking prescribed drugs
and making lifestyle changes.
“Research has proven that salt intake is
a reason why most Africans have
hypertension. Hypertension only kills
when you ignore it.”
If you have already been told that you
have high blood pressure, then your
doctor must have prescribed some drugs
to help you control it.
While medication can lower the
condition, it may cause side effects such
as leg cramps, dizziness, and lack of
sleep. Luckily, most people can bring
down their blood pressure
naturally .Your lifestyle plays an
important role in treating your high
blood pressure, according experts on
mayoclinic.com.
They say if one can successfully control
one’s blood pressure by living well, then
one can delay or reduce the need for
medication. Here are lifestyle changes
to make if you are ready to lower your
blood pressure and keep it down for
life!
Watch your waistline
Blood pressure often increases as
weight increases. Losing just 10 pounds
(4.5 kilogrammes) can help reduce your
blood pressure. In general, the more
weight you lose, the lower your blood
pressure.
Losing weight also makes any blood
pressure medications you’re taking
more effective. You and your doctor can
determine your target weight and the
best way to achieve it.
Besides shedding pounds, you should
also keep an eye on your waistline.
Carrying too much weight around your
waist can put you at greater risk of high
blood pressure. In general, men are at
risk if their waist measurement is
greater than 40 inches (102
centimetres).
Women are at risk if their waist
measurement is greater than 35 inches
(89 cm).
Exercise regularly
Regular physical activity — at least 30 to
60 minutes most days of the week —
can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9
millimetres of mercury (mm Hg).
And it doesn’t take long to see a
difference. If you haven’t been active,
increasing your exercise level can lower
your blood pressure within just a few
weeks. If you have pre-hypertension —
systolic pressure between 120 and 139
or diastolic pressure between 80 and 89
— exercise can help you avoid
developing full-blown hypertension.
If you already have hypertension,
regular physical activity can bring your
blood pressure down to safer levels.
Talk to your doctor about developing an
exercise programme.
Your doctor can help determine whether
you need any exercise restrictions. Even
moderate activity for 10 minutes at a
time, such as walking and light strength
training, can help. But avoid being a
“weekend warrior.” Trying to squeeze
all your exercise in on the weekends to
make up for weekday inactivity isn’t a
good strategy. Those sudden bursts of
activity could actually be risky.
Eat a healthy diet
Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains,
fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy
products and skimps on saturated fat
and cholesterol can lower your blood
pressure by up to 14 mm Hg. This eating
plan is known as the Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension diet.
It isn’t easy to change eating habits, but
with these tips, you can adopt a healthy
diet: Reduce salt in your diet. If you are
an African, you need to reduce your salt
intake. Even a small reduction in the
salt in your diet can reduce blood
pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg.
To decrease salt intake, track how much
salt is in your diet. Keep a food diary to
estimate how much salt is in what you
eat and drink each day and avoid eating
processed foods as much as you can,
because they are preserved with salt.
Also do not add raw salt to your food.
Potato chips, frozen dinners, bacon and
processed lunch meats are high in
sodium. You can ease into this change
by cutting back gradually till your taste
buds have adjusted to it.
Cut down on alcohol
Alcohol can be both good and bad for
your health. In small amounts, it can
potentially lower your blood pressure by
2 to 4 mm Hg. But that protective effect
is lost if you drink too much of it —
generally more than one drink a day for
women and men older than age 65, or
more than two a day for men age 65
and younger.
Also, if you don’t normally drink alcohol,
you shouldn’t start drinking it as a way
to lower your blood pressure. There’s
more potential harm than benefit to
drinking alcohol. If you drink more than
moderate amounts of it, alcohol can
actually raise blood pressure by several
points. It can also reduce the
effectiveness of high blood pressure
medications.
N.B, if you do not know your blood
pressure level, please get tested today.
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