Ways to Prevent Hypertension

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), a blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 is considered high and "systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered prehypertension and needs to be watched carefully." The systolic reading is the pressure when your heart contracts to pump blood and the diastolic number is the pressure when it rests. Untreated hypertension (high blood pressure) can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney failure. You can reduce your risk of developing hypertension through dietary modifications and lifestyle changes. Mediciations can prevent continued high blood pressure.

Diet

• To help prevent hypertension, watch what you eat and drink. The AHA recommends women have no more than one alcoholic drink per day and men have no more than two. Choose foods low in cholesterol, saturated fat and salt. The Food and Drug Administration classifies low cholesterol foods as those with 20 mg. or less per serving, low fat as 3 grams or less per serving, and low sodium as 140 mg. or less. Serum cholesterol level was linked to the development of hypertension in a 2005 study by the Harvard Medical School affiliate Brigham and Women's Hospital. Eating a diet low in cholesterol and fat can help lower your blood cholesterol level. Lowering your sodium intake is important because sodium can cause fluid retention, which raises your blood pressure.

Lifestyle

• If you are overweight, lose the extra pounds. According to Dr. Norman Kaplan, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, "blood pressure falls by about 1 mmHg for every 2.2 pounds of weight lost, an effect that is consistent for both men and women and for people of different ethnicities."

  Become more active. The Mayo Clinic recommends 30 to 60 minutes of exercise every day and states this can lower your blood pressure up to nine points in just a few weeks. You will reap this benefit from any type of aerobic exercise, from walking to raking the yard.

Medication

• The use of medication to treat prehypertension is being discussed, but the only consensus is that more study needs to be done. If you develop high blood pressure, medication can help prevent continued hypertension. Many drugs are designed to lower blood pressure, including diuretics that help eliminate excess fluids, vasodilators that help your blood vessels widen and increase blood flow, ACE inhibitors that help block a chemical which causes blood vessel constriction, and beta blockers that reduce your heart rate and help increase blood flow. The potential side of effects of each drug vary, but they include leg cramps, headache, dizziness, depression and fatigue. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if medication is the right choice for you and, if so, which is best.