There are many ways of lowering high blood pressure if you should suffer from hypertension. High blood pressure means that the pressure in your arteries is higher then normal, normal blood pressure is 120/80 or lower and high blood pressure is anything above–0/90.
The blood pressure measurement is a combination of the systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. When the heart contracts the systolic pressure measures the force of blood in the arteries and the diastolic pressure measures the force of the blood in the arteries while the heart pauses to rest after each beat. The combination of these two give your blood pressure.
High blood pressure is an issue because it can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, hardening of the arteries, stroke, brain damage and eye damage. Organ damage is considered the end result of high blood pressure as you can go for years with high blood pressure before damaging your organs.
Once diagnosed, there are several options available to for lowering high blood pressure. As a first step you can make some lifestyle changes which include eating a healthy diet. The types of food you eat will affect your blood pressure and switching your diet to high in fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and low in fatty foods, red meat and dairy products is recommended. Consuming too much salt can lead to high blood pressure so cutting out sodium can also help.
Being overweight will also increase your blood pressure so maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight can help your blood pressure. Drinking too much alcohol and smoking have also been known to increase your blood pressure thus stopping smoking and reducing your alcohol consumption can decrease your high blood pressure.
There are prescription medications that can be used to reduce your high blood pressure. Diuretics work by getting rid of excess salt in your body and flushing out additional water. They work directly on your kidneys rather then on your heart or arteries. Beta blockers will work on your heart to slow down its beating, therefore reducing the pressure in the arteries. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, also called ACE, works by regulating a hormone that causes the arteries to become narrow. By stopping this action your blood pressure will be reduced as there is more room in the arteries.
Calcium channel blockers stop calcium from entering muscle cells in the heart which causes the heart and blood vessels to relax. Alpha blockers reduce nerve control of the blood vessels so blood can easily flow through the vessels. Alpha-beta-blockers work just like alpha blockers but they also slow down your heart so less blood is pumped through the blood vessels.
Amongst the best ways to help your high blood pressure is to lose weight. Doing some of the south beach diet exercise routines could be the best way to lose those extra pounds.