How to Safely Lower Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can lead to serious health problems including stroke, kidney failure, heart disease and heart attack. High blood pressure causes your heart and all other organs to work too hard. Safely lowering blood pressure begins with changing your lifestyle, including your exercise and eating habits.

Instructions

• 1

  Quit smoking and reduce your drinking. The nicotine in tobacco products causes your heart to beat faster, raising your blood pressure. Excessive alcohol consumption raises blood pressure as well as causing you to gain weight. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, limit your intake of alcohol to 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine, or 1 1/2 oz. of hard liquor per day. Choose only one of those alcoholic beverages per day, not all three.

• 2

  Lose weight by exercising. Losing as little as 10 pounds can lower your blood pressure, according to the NHLBI. Exercise and physical activity is one of the most effective ways to lose weight and lower your blood pressure. Start by adding 30 minutes of moderate activity into your daily schedule. Take walks, do some gardening, go bicycling, swimming or join a gym. Before you sit down to watch television, read, or go on your computer, do some additional mild to moderate activity for 15 minutes. As you get more accustomed to exercise, increase the amount and intensity.

• 3

  Keep your weight under control and eat healthy. The NHLBI has come up with a diet called "DASH" that means "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension". The DASH diet focuses on fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, poultry, and fish. Foods must be low in total calories, fat and cholesterol by limiting red meat, fatty foods, sugary drinks and all sweets.

• 4

  Reduce salt and sodium and add potassium to your diet. Sodium and salt should be reduced to less than 2,400 mg daily. Stop adding salt to your food, using a sodium-free seasoning blend instead. Read all the food labels and check for sodium content. Avoid eating foods high in sodium such as french fries, salted nuts, potato chips, fast food, restaurant dining, cheese and some breads. Potassium has been shown in recent studies to lower blood pressure, according to NHLBI. The following foods are high in potassium: dried apricots, avocado, bananas, beets, lima beans, melon, milk, orange juice, spinach, prunes, squash and yogurt.

• 5

  Reduce stress to reduce your blood pressure. Take relaxing walks or join a yoga class to de-stress your life and increase your physical activity.