Lowering and Controling High Blood Pressure

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Lowering and Controlling High Blood Pressure

By Bruce Homstead

High blood pressure, aka, hypertension (HTN), affects over 50 million people in the U.S. That’s one in four adults, ages 20 and up. Yes, 20. Age does not automatically make it go up. Lifestyle choices make it go up.

Men are more likely to develop the condition, but more women over the age of 55 have hypertension than men of the same age. More than one half of people over 65 have HTN.

It’s a serious problem, worsened by being symptomless, insidious, and silent for much of its duration, i.e., before it causes headaches, dizziness, stroke, heart disease, seizures, confusion, nausea, visual disturbances and more. You don’t need to have any of these symptoms, some, or all.

Certain kidney diseases can actually cause HTN, as may other diseases. HTN is largely preventable and controllable. Why is it serious? 50% of people whose HTN remains untreated die of coronary artery disease and/or heart failure. The heart has to work harder to push the blood through the vessels, stressing the heart muscle to the point where it eventually fails.

A point to remember is that the blood pressure readings have to be sustained at the higher levels to create a diagnosis of HTN. This means a new set point has been reached related to the length of time one has had elevated pressure, meaning the new limits become the new norm. Day to day fluctuations due to stress, physical activity, sleep deprivation, et al, don’t count. Some of us have “white coat HTN” where we have an elevation in the doctor’s office because we are nervous. Often a second or third reading is taken at a later time to see if the numbers change, hopefully down. Think about how your heart was beating recently when you were out shoveling snow. And then add to that the stress of reshoveling the end of the drive or the sidewalk after the city plow went by again, usually just after you finished. Or, should I say: thought you were finished.

I have a page full of Do’s and Dont’s called Nutrition Tips for Controlling Blood Pressure. If I continue with these the post will be huge and you probably won’t read it. So, I will add the details in a few days, or you can contact me and I can mail one to you. Remember mail? Thanks for reading this far. Bruce

(references: Gupta K. Lowering high blood pressure. Let’s Live. Apr 1998.

Burns EA. Getting well naturally. New Life Health. vol 10-07. www.newlifehealth.com. New Life Centers newsletter

Homstead BR. Nutrition tips for controlling blood pressure