How to Lower Blood Pressure for a Test

Hypertension, or high blood pressure (BP), is a dangerous condition in which your blood puts excess force on the blood vessels it travels through. High BP can lead to heart disease, among other serious problems. For this reason, many health and life insurance companies give you a BP test before issuing coverage. A high BP reading can raise your premiums or cause you to be denied coverage. Although you cannot hide a hypertension condition with a few days of preparation, there are ways to lower your BP a few points in the days or weeks leading up to your test.

Instructions

• 1

  Manage your diet, particularly in the days leading up to the test. Avoid excessive caffeine, carbonated drinks and sugar. On the day of the BP test, try to eat about 3 to 4 hours before the BP reading.

• 2

  Avoid heavy exercise on the day of the BP test. This is not to say that you should not exercise. Routine exercise is actually a great way to keep a healthy BP. However, you should not run 4 miles and then go get your BP read. This can give your BP test a false high reading. So, take the elevator and not the stairs on the way to the BP test.

• 3

  Eliminate stress from your life as much as possible as the BP reading approaches. You should avoid unnecessarily stressful situations because they can raise your BP even more than it already is. About 15 to 20 minutes before the BP reading, try to relax and take a few deep breaths.

• 4

  Inform the person administering your BP test of any prescription or over-the-counter medicines you may be taking. Some medicines can skew a BP reading. This should be taken into account when reading the results.