9 keys to control and lower high blood pressure

All over the world there are millions of people who suffer from having cardiovascular problems. Having high blood pressure is one of the most common cardiovascular problems and can bring many complications to those who suffer from it..

We all have rises and falls in blood pressure, as it is part of the functioning of our body. What is not so normal is that the average of this voltage exceeds certain limits. Next we are going to see what exactly blood pressure is and we will discover 9 ways to lower it and keep it under control.

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What is blood pressure?

A high pressure or tension is also known as hypertension, and it means that our blood circulates through our blood vessels experiencing more push. For different possible reasons, the blood is more tight when it comes to flow and this can cause different problems.

There are some values ​​considered normal for blood pressure. These are accepted ranges in which blood vessels have adequate tension for blood to flow through them. The figure rotates around 120 mm Hg for systolic pressure and 80 mm Hg for diastolic pressure. When the figures are significantly higher we have high tension, and if it is the other way around we have low tension.

During a day we have variations, and in times of stress or physical activity we have high blood pressure, while if we are relaxed it is rather low. These are specific moments, but there are people who are on average in figures that are not healthy.

Having high blood pressure can lead to health problems in different organs of the body, especially in the heart that suffers a lot of stress. But he's not the only one. there are many cardiovascular accidents in the brain or in other organs such as eyes or kidneys.

9 good ways to lower blood pressure

There are many people who turn to drugs as a solution to this problem without thinking about doing much more. From La Guía Femenina we like to empower people, and it is that those who suffer from hypertension can do much more to take care of themselves.

Working on good habits is essential to keep blood pressure under control, because they help us to have better health and prevent problems. Next we are going to see 9 ways to control blood pressure and lower it

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1. Eat without salt

Everyone with hypertension should greatly limit their salt intake. This, obviously, means that it is not appropriate to add salt to the dishes that we cook, but we must also pay special attention to food that we buy already made. There are places like bars and restaurants where it is cooked with a lot of salt, which is added especially in sauces. You also have to be very careful with processed foods, as the food industry adds a lot of salt to their products.

2. Avoid large meals

To avoid power surges it is convenient to eat dishes prepared in a simple way. Avoid cooked, stewed, fried, etc. it is going to be very useful for cardiovascular health. It will always be better to steam, grill or boil.

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3. Avoid saturated fat and trans fat

To keep hypertension at bay, it is also essential to follow a diet free from saturated fats and trans fats.. To take care of cardiovascular health in general, we should not eat too many fatty meats such as pork and processed products from the food industry. It is also necessary to avoid fried ones.

4. Avoid obesity

In order to have a blood pressure within normal parameters, it is necessary to avoid being overweight The relationship between obesity and hypertension has been extensively studied. When there is more tissue in a person's body, the heart has to work harder to get blood to all cells. Avoiding being overweight is vital to controlling high blood pressure.

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5. Eat quality food

Eating quality and lifelong food is one of the mandatory recommendations to take care of cardiovascular health. You should avoid fast food of poor quality and bet more on fruits, vegetables, cereals, nuts or legumes, full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. The variety of the diet is also a protective factor.

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6. No Smoking

Smoking tobacco is very harmful to our health in many ways, but something that many people may not be aware of is that it also causes hypertension. The nicotine in tobacco causes the levels of catecholamines to rise, substances that cause vasoconstriction. In addition, the innermost layer of the blood vessels is damaged by the substances contained in tobacco smoke.

7. Avoid coffee

The caffeine in coffee has an impact on the rise in blood pressure, despite the fact that there are people who show more tolerance. Caffeine is a substance that blocks the action of some substances in the body that have the function of opening blood vessels. That is why it is better to reduce the amount of coffee we drink and avoid drinking it if we do any intense physical activity, either for exercise or work.

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8. Avoid certain medications

There are certain medications that have a rise in blood pressure as a side effect.. Some simply cannot stop taking them, treating a more important ailment. For example, antipsychotics can be very important in treating some cognitive disorders. On the other hand, birth control pills also raise blood pressure and other types of medication could be used to control and lower blood pressure.

9. To meditate

It is becoming more and more evident that meditating brings a lot of quality of life to those who practice this activity. Meditation allows the mind to let thoughts flow and we have more awareness of our body, which translates into a decrease in the general tension of the body. Also in the specific case of blood pressure, meditating is a great resource for our body.

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Bibliographic references

• Cañizares J. (1992). Hypertension: An always current topic. Hexagon. 1(2), 5-12.

• Calhoun, D.A., Jones, D., Textor, S., et al. (2008). Resistant hypertension: diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Professional Education Committee of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research. Hypertension, 51 (6), 1403-1419.

• Gabb, G.M., Mangoni, A.A., Anderson, C.S., Cowley, D., Dowden, J.S. and Golledge, J. (2016). Guideline for the diagnosis and management of hypertension in adults - 2016. Melbourne: National Heart Foundation of Australia, 205 (2), 85-89.

• Guemez, J., Alba, A., Argote, A., Méndez. R. and Moreno, L. (1992). Relationships between weight, age and blood pressure in the Mexican population. Arch Inst Cardiol Mex, 62, 171-177.