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If you have diabetes or kidney disease, your blood pressure goal should be 130/80 mm Hg or less. Therefore, blood pressure greater than 130/80 mm Hg is considered stage 1 hypertension.
Testing your blood pressure at home is a great way to test whether your lifestyle changes are having a positive effect on your blood pressure or whether or not the medications are effective. On top of this, it provides you with greater independence and constant feedback on your progress – a great source of motivation!
The first step to successfully managing or reversing hypertension is setting a clear goal. Your treatment goal will depend on your current blood pressure. If you have prehypertension, you must alter your lifestyle to achieve optimum control. If you have high blood pressure, apply the same lifestyle modifications. If lifestyle modifications don’t work, talk to your doctor to prescribe medications until your blood pressure is under control.
Good Habits for managing hypertension.
1. Eating healthily
2. Physical activities (exercise)
3. Maintaining a healthy weight
4. Meditation and Yoga
5. Monitoring your blood pressure
Bad Habits
1. Salt
2. Stress
3. Alcohol
4. Caffein
5. Smoking (tobacco)
Treatment Plans to Lower Your Blood Pressure
1.Cut Down on Salt
Contrary to common belief, the most significant contributor to our daily sodium consumption is not table salt – the vast majority (around 75%) of sodium is consumed through restaurant foods and processed foods. Studies have found that, in most cases, eating less salt leads to lower blood pressure; therefore, the lower your salt intake, the lower your blood pressure. This is because excess sodium holds excess fluid in the body, creating an added burden on your heart, thereby increasing blood pressure.
NOTE: Sodium is our friend and our enemy in many ways. Sodium is crucial for our body as it maintains the acid and base balance necessary for our bodily functions to operate effectively.
Sodium Content in Salt
Salt contains around 40% sodium and 60% chloride. The following are the approximate amounts of sodium found in table salt:
-1/4 teaspoon salt contains 575 mg sodium
-1/2 teaspoon salt contains 1,150 mg sodium
-3/4 teaspoon salt contains 1,725 mg sodium
-1 teaspoon salt contains 2,300 mg sodium
Tips of Reducing Your Salt Intake:
-Remove the salt from your dining table and hide it in the cupboard!
-Eat fresh, raw vegetables.
-Substitute crisps and other salty snacks with fruits.
-Reduce intake of the following sauces: mustard, ketchup, Tomato Sauce
-Reduce intake of salt-cured food.
-Avoid dried fruits that contain salt.
-Avoid processed foods. As a general rule of thumb, the more unprocessed your food, the rawer it is and the lower the salt content
When buying food:
–Buy fresh foods.
-Check the label! Only purchase products that state the following: ‘reduced sodium’ or ‘no salt added’. As a general rule of thumb, avoid products that contain more than 180 mg of sodium.
When cooking:
–When cooking, always use less salt than stated in a recipe.
-Rinse canned foods that contain sodium. This removes the sodium before cooking.
-To flavor your food, substitute salt with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, white or red wine.
-Avoid supplemental foods high in salt, e.g. soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and anything that contains MSG (monosodium glutamate).
-Avoid salted butter and sauces/dressings which are high in salt.
When eating out: When eating out, request your food to be prepared with little salt or request to have sauces such as salad dressings on the side so that you can control the amount you eat.
2.Incorporate DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)
DASH emphasizes fruit and vegetable intake. This is because this category of foods is high in potassium – the higher the potassium, the lower the blood pressure. The DASH diet emphasizes good nutrition over calorie counting. A nutritionally balanced diet is essential to success and long-term health benefits for long-term weight loss.
DASH Daily Servings:
A) Vegetables and Fruits: 8 – 10 servings per day
Apples, apple juice
-Apricots
-Bananas
-Broccoli
-Carrots
-Collard
-Dates
-Grapes, grape juice
-Green beans
-Kale
-Mangos
-Melons
-Oranges, orange juice
-Peaches
-Peas
-Pineapples
-Prunes
-Spinach
-Squash
-Strawberries
-Sweet potatoes
-Tangerines
-Tomatoes
What is a serving?
–1 cup of lettuce/other raw leafy vegetables
-½ cup of other vegetables
-177 Milliliters of vegetable juice
-1 medium fruit
-½ cup of fresh fruit
-177 Milliliters of fruit juice
B) Grains: 7 – 8 servings per day
What are good food choices?
-Cereals that are high in fiber
-English muffins
-Oatmeal
-Whole wheat bread
What is a serving?
-1 slice of whole wheat bread
-½ bagel
-½ cup of dry cereal
-½ cup of cooked rice, pasta, or other cereal
C)Dairy (Low-Fat or Fat-Free): 2 – 3 servings per day
What are good food choices?
-Fat-free cheese or part-skim mozzarella
-Fat-free or low-fat yogurt
-Skimmed or 1% fat milk
-Skimmed or low-fat buttermilk
What is a serving?
-1 cup of milk (1% fat)
-1 cup of yogurt
-1 ½ oz. of cheese
D) Fats: 2 – 3 servings per day
What is serving?
-1 tsp. of olive oil
-1 tsp. of margarine or mayonnaise
-1 Tbs. of regular salad dressing
-2 Tbs. of light salad dressing
E)Seafood, Poultry, or Lean Meat: 0 – 2 servings per day
What are good food choices?
-Lean meat
-Poultry without skin
-Steamed fish/meat (no frying)
What is a serving?
-3 oz. (88 milliliters) roasted or broiled seafood, skinless poultry, or lean meat
F)Beans, Nuts & Seeds: 1 serving per day
What are good food choices?
-Almonds, peanuts, mixed nuts
-Kidney beans
-Lentils
-Sunflower or sesame seeds
-Tofu
What is a serving?
-1 cup of cooked beans
-1/3 cup of nuts
-2 Tbs. sunflower seeds
-3 oz. (88 milliliters) tofu
When selecting your meals, remember to choose a lower-salt food alternative.
Would you like a personalized DASH Meal plan? Send me an email – duncun@dmmc.co.ke We will call you back and custom make yours with locally available and affordable foods/fruits
3. Say No to Alcohol, Caffeine, and Tobacco
When you say no to alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, you will:
-Improve your work performance.
-Improve your sex life.
-Increase your life expectancy.
-Lower your blood pressure
Alcohol raises blood pressure, and blood pressure falls back to normal once the drinking stops. Besides raising blood pressure, alcohol abuse raises the risk of neuropathy, brain attacks, and other health complications, such as heart disease, depression, degeneration of the brain, and an increased risk of cancer.
Smoking is widely known to irritate the lungs, thereby compromising your lung’s functional abilities. However, what is less known is that smoking adversely affects your blood pressure. The nicotine in tobacco elevates blood pressure by constricting your blood vessels. Because of this, the more you smoke, the higher your chances of having high blood pressure. Once a person quits smoking, their blood pressure also falls.
The following are a few effective methods that can help you quit:
The following are a few effective methods that can help you quit smoking;
-Nicotine-replacement therapy, e.g. using nicotine gum, nicotine lozenge, and nicotine patches.
-Taking medication that aids smoking cessation, such as Chantix or Zyban, helps reduce withdrawal symptoms.
Caffeine and High Blood Pressure
Caffeine temporarily increases blood pressure, but moderate coffee drinking will not usually cause any long-term damage. On the other hand, a habit of overdrinking heavily caffeinated coffee can cause persistent high blood pressure. Studies have found a blood pressure increase of 5 mm Hg in some people who drink 4 – 5 of high-caffeinated cups of coffee a day. Besides spikes in blood pressure, excessive caffeine consumption (over 300 mg of caffeine daily over an extended period) can have potential medical consequences, including heartburn, insomnia, increased risk of heart disease, birth complications, and osteoporosis (thinning of the bones). However, coffee and tea are not the only sources of caffeine: a bottle of Coca-Cola (16 oz.) contains around 40 mg of caffeine, a 100-gram bar of milk chocolate has approximately 20 mg of caffeine, and 100 grams of dark chocolate contains 43 mg of caffeine.
Avoiding Drugs and Supplements That Can Raise Blood Pressure
We have drugs that can contribute to high blood pressure.
4. Avoid types of medication that elevate BP.
A)NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), both prescription and over-the-counter versions, can elevate blood pressure by making your body retain fluid, thereby decreasing the function of your kidneys. Common used NSAIDs that raise blood pressure include:
-(Advil, Motrin) – Ibuprofen
-(Aleve) – Naproxen Sodium
-(Ascriptin, Bayer, Ecotrin) – Aspirin
-(Anaprox) – Naproxen Sodium
-(Celebrex) – Celecoxib, Sulindac
-(Daypro) – Oxaprozin, Salsalate, Diflunisal
-(Feldene) – Piroxicam
-(Indocin) – Indomethacin, Etodolac
-(Mobic) – Meloxicam
-(Naprosyn) – Naproxen, Nabumetone, Ketorolac Tromethamine
-(Vimovo) – Naproxen/Esomeprazole
-(Voltaren) – Diclofen
Other pain medications which can cause blood pressure to rise include:
-Indomethacin (e.g. Indocin) and
-Piroxicam (Feldene).
B)Cough Medications (Decongestants)
Cough medications often contain NSAIDs, and many also contain decongestants.
Examples of decongestants include:
-Phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine).
-Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed).
C)Antidepressants
Antidepressants contain chemicals that can cause a spike in your blood pressure. Antidepressants that have blood-pressure-raising effects include:
-Fluoxetine (e.g., Prozac and Sarafem),
-Monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
-Tricyclic antidepressants
-Venlafaxine (Effexor XR).
D) Immunosuppressants
Immunosuppressants can affect your kidney, and some can also cause your blood pressure to rise. Examples of immunosuppressants that can raise your blood pressure include:
-Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune)
-Tacrolimus (Prograf)
E) Herbal supplements
Herbal supplements that can affect or your blood pressure include the following:
-Ginkgo
-Ginseng
-Guarana
-Arnica
-Bitter Orange
-Ephedra
-Licorice
-Senna
F) Birth control
Some birth control pills may increase your blood pressure. If you are currently taking birth control pills or are pregnant and used to taking birth control pills over a long period, it is advised you have your blood pressure checked regularly.
5) Potassium, calcium, and magnesium
Some electrolytes or minerals affect our blood pressure. Increasing potassium, calcium, and magnesium intake are inversely associated with blood pressure. Studies experimenting with potassium restriction have shown that too little potassium has the same effect on body pressure as too much salt. Potassium also helps balance out the harmful effects of sodium on blood pressure. Not only does potassium help lower your blood pressure, but it also helps stabilize your heartbeat and prevent kidney stones.
The recommended daily intake of potassium to help you lower your blood pressure is roughly 4.7 grams (4,700 milligrams)
To ensure that you consume a healthy amount of potassium, try to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. This will give you a good source of potassium (as opposed to the potassium derived from potassium supplement tablets).
FRUITS RICH IN POTASSIUM
-Avocado
-Banana
-Cantaloupe
-Cooked spinach
-Dates
-Mango
-Orange
-Prunes
-Raisins
-Strawberries
-Sweet potato
IMPORTANT: If you have kidney disease, increasing your potassium intake can be harmful. In this case, it is advised to consult your nutritionist or doctor to devise an eating plan that suits your needs.
Calcium helps your body to maintain and build strong bones, and it also helps maintain the proper functioning of your muscles, nerves, and heart rhythm. Magnesium supports your energy metabolism and is essential in preserving muscle activity, body temperature, and proper nerve function. Some studies have also suggested that calcium and magnesium have health benefits beyond the above listed, such as protecting against high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.
FOODS RICH IN CALCIUM
-Kale
-Cooked spinach
-Salmon
-Yogurt
-Orange juice
-Cheese e.g., goat, low-fat cheddar, or mozzarella
FOODS RICH IN MAGNESIUM
-Beans
-Avocado
-Milk
-Yogurt
-Banana
-Apple
-Spinach
-Broccoli
-Pumpkin seeds
-Sunflower seeds
-Almonds
6.Exercise! A Fitter You! = Lower High Blood Pressure
Maintaining a normal and healthy weight is crucial in controlling blood pressure. Studies monitoring the effects of weight loss on blood pressure have shown that for every 5 kg of excess weight lost, systolic blood pressure decreases by 2 – 10 points.
Your heart is a muscle, and like all the other muscles in your body, it must be exercised to become stronger and more efficient. Of course, besides lowering blood pressure, many other health benefits flow from regular physical activity which include
-Boosts your sex drive.
-Controls your weight.
-Improves mental health and mood.
-Improves your memory.
-Increases energy levels.
-Lowers your blood sugar
-Reduces your risk of some cancers (such as breast cancer and large intestinal cancer).
-Strengthens your bones and muscles.
Before starting your exercise program, it is crucial to keep the following in mind:
a)Start slowly and progress gradually. Getting to your goal takes time and the key to healthy exercising is persistence and routine.
b)Exercising daily (rather than three or four times a week) has a much more significant effect on your blood pressure. This is because people with high blood pressure will experience a drop in blood pressure for around 7 – 8 hours after exercising. In the long term, regular exercise will have a huge and long-lasting effect on your blood pressure and health.
c)Aerobic exercises (e.g., walking, running, swimming, cycling, tennis, etc.) have a much more significant effect on your blood pressure compared to anaerobic exercise (e.g., lifting heavy weights). Regular aerobic exercise can, with time, lower your blood pressure by 10 mm and help you get off blood pressure medications.
d)Engaging in a program that contains aerobic, anaerobic, and stretching exercises is, without doubt, the best form of exercise – not only will this lower your blood pressure, but also strengthen your muscles.
6.Manage your Stress Healthily
People often underestimate the impact our emotional health has on our cardiovascular health. Although stress is not a confirmed contributor or risk factor for high blood pressure, stress certainly affects our bodies and overall health. However, there is no proof that stress or negative emotions alone can cause long-term high blood pressure. Instead, stress is sometimes directly linked to bad blood-pressure-raising habits, including poor sleeping habits, drinking too much alcohol, and overeating.
Ways in which you can reduce and control your relationship with stress:
A)Exercise regularly: Exercise releases endorphins and regular exercise can reduce your stress levels.
B)Know what pleases you and nurture it: Whether this is going on a long relaxing walk, reading a book or nurturing encouraging relationships.
C)Practice gratitude: Changing your outlook by focusing on the positive will transform how you look at life’s fallbacks.
D)Relax and take time to care for yourself: Be conscientious to take time every day to focus on yourself and the present moment.
E)Say no: It is crucial to pinpoint your priorities and to understand your limitations.
F)Sometimes you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you feel about it: Understand what is out of your control and learn to accept that there are things that you cannot change. The only thing you can control is your emotions, not to be affected by what has happened but to focus on yourself.
G)Time management: Allow yourself enough time to get things done.
H)Understand what causes stress: Whether this is a relationship with a friend or rush-time traffic. If you can avoid these stress triggers, make sure that you do.
I)Meditation: Meditation is the practice of sitting still and connecting with the present moment through focusing on one’s breath. Meditation has shown to have numerous health benefits and is commonly employed to relieve stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and the symptoms of cancer or cardiovascular disorders. It is used to induce positive emotions and mental calmness. Adopting a regular meditation practice can help you maintain a focused and calm mind. Meditation can impact your blood pressure because your body produces nitric oxide when you are in a relaxed and peaceful state. Nitric oxide helps your blood vessels open up, reducing your blood pressure.
J)Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy or hypnosis is a practice whereby a person is guided into a state of heightened attention and relaxation. Hypnotherapy can be used to alleviate the psychological factors associated with headaches, anxiety, phobias, amongst other things. In some instances, hypnotherapy has helped people quit smoking and lose weight, both of which have a positive effect on blood pressure.
Managing Diabetes and High Blood Pressure
Diabetes damages the arteries of the heart and can cause atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a disease characterized by the hardening of the blood vessels, which is caused by the deposit of plaque in the inner walls of the arteries. People with diabetes are therefore at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. If you have diabetes, therefore, it is crucial to have your blood pressure strictly controlled because high blood pressure can worsen complications associated with diabetes.
The goal blood pressure reading of a person with diabetes is 130/80 mm Hg or less.
You can lower blood pressure levels by administering medications and by adopting heart-healthy lifestyle changes. The same lifestyle changes can be adopted to prevent and control both diabetes and high blood pressure.
-Controlling blood sugar
-Eating healthy – do the DASH diet!
-Maintaining a healthy body weight.
-Exercising regularly.
-Limiting alcohol consumption.
-Limiting salt intake.
-Quitting smoking
If you have diabetes and have a blood pressure reading of 140/80 mm Hg or more despite lifestyle modifications, medications are usually advised. There are several available blood pressure medications, but which one you are prescribed will depend on a variety of factors, such as:
VISIT US AT DMMC NGARA FOR CONSULTATION ON HOW TO ACHIEVE THE ABOVE IF YOU CANNOT DO IT ON YOUR OWN.
We are a Kenyan-owned online Pharmacy and Diabetes Care Center built from a patient-perspective. We are a licensed Online Pharmacy operating from Nairobi and delivering medical supplies countrywide.
