At your last checkup, your primary care provider said you have high blood pressure. What does that mean for your health?
High blood pressure is quite common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 50 percent of adults in the United States have high blood pressure — and many people are unaware they have it.
Consider your diagnosis a caution flag. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, also called hypertension, you can take steps to lower your blood pressure into a healthy range. Doing so can lower your risk of many health conditions, including heart disease, heart failure and heart attack.
How does high blood pressure affect the heart?
To understand how high blood pressure can affect your health, you first need to understand what high blood pressure is. Blood pressure is a measure of how forcefully blood hits the blood vessel walls as it travels through the body.
When your blood pressure is high, it means blood is hitting those walls with a lot of force. Over time, this can damage the blood vessels and limit the flow of blood. The damage done to the blood vessel walls — often in the form of tiny tears — can also cause plaque to accumulate, which further limits blood flow.
Plaque buildup endangers the heart in multiple ways, causing blockages that can lead to a heart attack and excess strain that can lead to heart failure. It can also cause blood clots to form.
What can I do to lower my blood pressure?
Because high blood pressure increases your risk of heart problems, it’s important to do what you can to lower it into a healthy range. Elevated blood pressure is defined as an office reading of of 120–139 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (the “top” number) or 70–89 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure (the “bottom” number).
In many cases, changing your habits can have a big impact on your blood pressure. Practice a heart-healthy lifestyle by:
- Filling your plate with whole foods. At meals, fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, which are packed with antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. Supplement those healthy foods with lean protein, whole grains and a small amount of the good fats found in nuts, avocados and olives.
- Go fish. Twice a week, eat a 4-ounce serving of fatty fish, such as tuna or salmon. This type of fish is packed with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
- Limit sodium. Excessive sodium intake can increase your blood pressure, so take steps to lower how much salt is in your diet. Most of the salt we eat comes from processed foods rather than the saltshaker, so read product labels carefully.
- Move your body more. Experts recommend getting at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week. That’s around 20 minutes per day of an activity like brisk walking, water aerobics or even weeding the garden.
- Quit smoking. Smoking damages blood vessels, which can magnify the effects of high blood pressure.
If your blood pressure is particularly high, your primary care provider or a cardiologist may recommend you begin taking medication to lower it. While it may take some experimenting to find the right medication, there are many options available to manage high blood pressure.
By lowering your blood pressure into a healthy range, either with medications or through lifestyle changes, you can live a long, healthy life.
Next steps
If you have high blood pressure or other risk factors for heart problems, the team of non-invasive cardiologists at Georgia Heart Institute can help you We offer the resources and care you need to protect your heart.