A person needs to lower blood pressure if the blood pressure exceeds 130/80 mmHg. There are several ways to reduce blood pressure, from living a healthy lifestyle, to a special diet, to taking drugs.
Normal blood pressure is around 120/80 mmHg or slightly lower. If a person's blood pressure is above this number, then he is said to have an increased blood pressure. If the blood pressure rises to more than 130/80 mmHg, this condition is called high blood pressure or hypertension.
There are several things that can cause a person to experience high blood pressure, namely:
- Elderly.
- Hereditary factors, or have a biological family with a history of high blood pressure.
- Rarely exercise, or have excess weight (obesity).
- Frequently consume unhealthy foods, including consuming lots of salt.
- The habit of smoking or consuming alcohol.
- Often stressed.
- Certain diseases, such as diabetes, kidney disease, thyroid disorders, and sleep apnea.
By changing lifestyles to be healthier, managing or lowering blood pressure is not impossible. But if hypertension is caused by a disease, then the disease needs to be treated first to the doctor.
How to reduce blood pressure
The following are some easy steps to help lower blood pressure:
1. Reduce weight
Being overweight can make the heart work harder and cause hypertension. Therefore, cutting body weight is one effective way to control and reduce blood pressure.
If you are overweight or obese, it is recommended to lose weight until you reach your ideal weight.
2. Live a healthy diet
Eating healthy foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, and reducing saturated fat and cholesterol intake can help lower blood pressure.
In addition, do not forget to also consume foods that contain potassium, such as bananas, potatoes, oranges, carrots, grapes, and spinach. Potassium is one of the nutrients that can help reduce high blood pressure. Potassium intake recommendations that need to be fulfilled are around 4500-4700 mg per day.
3. Limiting salt consumption
Sodium (sodium) is widely contained in salt, both salt in cooking, snacks, canned foods, and soft drinks. If the amount of sodium in the body is excessive, then this can increase blood pressure.
Therefore, hypertension sufferers are recommended to reduce the consumption of foods containing salt or to go on a low salt diet. Please note that adults are only advised to consume as much as 1500-2000 mg of sodium per day.
4. Exercise regularly
The recommended exercise for reducing blood pressure is exercise done for 30-60 minutes, 3-5 times a week. Sports that are carried out routinely and consistently can reduce blood pressure by 5-8 mmHg.
Some examples of good exercise to reduce blood pressure are walking, jogging, cycling, gymnastics, and swimming.
5. Reducing stress
Prolonged stress or too often can help increase body blood pressure. Come on, control stress so that high blood pressure comes down. You can control it by doing relaxation, yoga, meditation, or activities that you like.
6. Stop smoking and alcohol consumption
Both of these bad habits are a common cause of high blood pressure. People who smoke often are said to be more at risk for hypertension complications, such as heart disease and stroke.
So, let's start stopping smoking and consuming alcohol to reduce blood pressure.
7. Taking drugs
To reduce high blood pressure, often also needed antihypertensive drugs. Especially if the methods above do not succeed in reducing blood pressure after more than 6 months.
However, the use of this drug should not be arbitrary and must be prescribed by a doctor. Your doctor will adjust the type and dose of antihypertensive medication according to your age, your body's response to the drug, and the history of other illnesses you are suffering from.
Some types of antihypertensive drugs that can be used to reduce high blood pressure are:
- ACE-inhibitors, such as captopril, lisinopril, and ramipril.
- Angiotensin-2 receptor blockers (ARB), such as candesartan, irbesartan, losartan, valsartan, and olmesartan.
- Diuretics, such as furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide.
- Calcium channel blockers, such as amlodipine, felodipine, nifedipine, diltiazem, and verapamil.
- Beta-blockers or beta blockers, such as propranolol, atenolol, bisoprolol, and metoprolol.
If you have been diagnosed with hypertension, you need to routinely check blood pressure. This you can do yourself at home, using a tensimeter.
By living a healthy lifestyle, you can reduce high blood pressure and avoid its complications. Do not forget also to regularly see a doctor, in order to monitor your health condition.
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