Beat the Pressure: Your Guide to Managing Hypertension
Hypertension is commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is a common condition affecting approximately 25% of Canadians throughout their lives. For all of us our blood flow naturally exerts pressure on our vessel walls, but when it becomes too high, it results in hypertension. Over time, hypertension can damage vessel walls and overwork the heart, increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. The good news is there are many lifestyle and medical therapies that can help to lower blood pressure back into a normal range.
Signs and symptoms
Hypertension often goes undiagnosed as many people have minimal or no symptoms; however, sometimes, these symptoms include dizziness, vision problems, and headaches. This is why It is important to have routine blood pressure screening at the doctor's office (every 1-2 years) as hypotension often goes undiagnosed.
Risk factors for high blood pressure include:
- Smoking
- Risk increases with age
- Carrying excess body weight
- An inactive lifestyle
- Stress
- Alcohol consumption
- High sodium/ salt diet
- Untreated sleep apnea.
Measurements and targets
Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and consists of systolic (higher number, pressure during heart contraction) and diastolic (lower number, pressure during heart relaxation) readings.
General blood pressure guidelines:
- Optimal: <120/80 mmHg
- Normal: <130/85 mmHg
- Normal/High: 130-139/85-89 mmHg
- Hypertension: >140/90 mmHg
- Hypertension with diabetes or kidney disease: >130/80 mmHg
A hypertension diagnosis requires multiple elevated readings by a healthcare professional. Individual targets can vary, so speak with your doctor about the safest levels for you.
White coat syndrome? For some people, they have high blood pressure at the doctor's office but not at home. We used to think this was harmless, but more recently it has been understood that having higher blood pressure in more stressful situations could lead to hypertension in the future. If you are concerned about your blood pressure, book in to speak with your GP.
Strategies to decrease hypertension
Lifestyle changes can help to lower blood pressure, but often medications are also needed to lower blood pressure into a safe range.
Ways to reduce high blood pressure include:
- Quitting smoking
- Limiting alcohol to 1-2 drinks per day
- Losing 5-10% of body weight if overweight
- Increasing physical activity (30-60 minutes on most days)
- Reducing stress and practicing relaxation techniques
Nutrition strategies for lowering your blood pressure
Research suggests excessive sodium/ high intake of salt, can increase water retention leading to higher blood pressure. Sodium is commonly found in our food system, especially in processed, packaged, restaurant and takeout foods. Canadians consume about 3400 mg of sodium daily, while the ideal intake is 1500 mg. To help prevent high blood pressure Health Canada recommends less than 2300 mg, If you already have high blood pressure trying to keep sodium less than 2000mg can be helpful.
Tips to reduce sodium intake:
- Read food labels: choose foods with less than 5% daily value (DV) of sodium, and choose less often those with more than 15% daily value (DV).
- Eat more home-cooked meals; they typically contain less salt than a restaurant or fast food.
- Season with spices, herbs, and citrus instead of salt; use salt substitutes like Mrs. Dash.
- Be mindful of the amounts of highly processed, pickled, and canned foods consumed. Deli meats, condiments and packaged sauces can also be high sodium sources. Rinsing canned vegetables and beans can decrease the amount of sodium in the food!
- Be aware of other sodium sources: MSG, brine, baking soda, baking powder, soy sauce, and liquid aminos.
- All salts (kosher, table, sea, Himalayan pink) contain the same amount of sodium.
The DASH diet
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is an evidence based eating plan helps control or lower blood pressure by emphasizing:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Low-fat dairy (skim milk, yogurt)
- Whole grains, beans, peas, lentils
- Fish twice a week, lean proteins (chicken, turkey, soy), less red meat
- Limiting added sugar and sweets
- Having more heart-healthy fats, and less saturated fats
- Aiming for 30g of fiber daily
- Having foods high in calcium, magnesium, and potassium (leafy greens, oranges, nuts, broccoli, avocado)
- If you have kidney disease, consult your GP before increasing potassium intake.
For more DASH diet details or resources on fiber and heart-healthy fats, click here. If you are interested in learning or experimenting with some strategies that could help to lower your blood pressure let your Constant Health Dietitian know!
Resources
National Library of Medicine - Sodium Intake and Hypertension
National Library of Medicine - White coat syndrome