In 2003, the American Heart Association said that hypertension affected nearly one-third of adults or 65 million people. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common problem that can be fixed. If your blood pressure is 140 over 90 or higher (140/90mm Hg), you have high blood pressure. When your blood pressure is 120–139/80–89 mm Hg, you have prehypertension. The AHA says that prehypertension affects 59 million adults. People with high blood pressure are more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke. High blood pressure is the cause of 69 percent of heart attacks and 77 percent of strokes.
When you have high blood pressure, you can't feel or see any signs of it. Your blood pressure is the only way to find out. Most of the time, mildly high blood pressure can be controlled by making changes to your diet and way of life. But sometimes, your doctor will tell you to take medicine and make changes to the way you live.
Here are some things you can do to help bring down your blood pressure. Stop smoking. Smoking makes your blood vessels smaller, which makes your blood pressure go up a lot. You should also try to keep your weight healthy. Eat fewer foods that are high in fat and move around more. If you work out regularly, your heart, blood vessels, and muscles will get stronger, and your blood pressure will stay low. Drink alcohol in moderation, and cut down on the amount of salt you eat. When you eat a lot of salt, your body holds on to water, which raises the amount of blood in your system and the pressure in your arteries.
If your doctor tells you to take blood pressure medicine, take all of it as directed. Try to take your pills around the same time every day, and don't miss any. See your doctor if you have side effects or don't think your blood pressure is high. Make sure you get more of your medicine before it runs out. Do not stop taking your medicine just because your blood pressure is normal. It's likely that the medicine is making your blood pressure normal.
