How to Lower High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure medicine is one type of medication that a patient should not arbitrarily stop without first consulting with their physician. If you have high blood pressure and your doctor is considering putting you on medication, you can make some changes in your life to start lowering your blood pressure without medication. It is important to have regular medical check ups, and while you may still have to go on blood pressure medication, it is possible that you can control your blood pressure without a trip to the pharmacy.

Instructions

• 1

  Maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight, every ten pounds you lose will help lower your blood pressure. It is especially important for men to keep their waist measurement under 40 inches, and women to keep their waist measurement under 35 inches.

• 2

  Get physical. Regular exercise will help to lower your blood pressure. 30 minutes to 60 minutes for most days is recommended by the Mayo Clinic. They advise against trying to cram in a week's worth of exercise into one day.

• 3

  Skip fast food and go for a healthy diet with lots of fresh vegetables, fruit and low fat foods. Eat foods rich in potassium which can reduce the effects of sodium.

• 4

  Get rid of the salt shaker. Reducing sodium can reduce your blood pressure. When grocery shopping, check labels for the sodium content.

• 5

  Pace yourself with the alcohol. According to the Mayo Clinic a small amount of alcohol can lower your blood pressure, but that benefit is reversed if you drink too much. Men should drink no more than two drinks a day, and women should drink no more than one drink a day.

• 6

  Quit smoking and avoid second hand smoke.

• 7

  Reduce your caffeine intake. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, in that caffeine will raise their blood pressure. Even those who are not sensitive to caffeine should drink no more than two cups of caffeine drinks a day.

• 8

  Control your stress. According to the Mayo Clinic the verdict is out on how stress effects blood pressure. It is believed blood pressure can be temporarily increased by stress.