Submitted by Dr T on July 8, 2011 – 9:20am
I am wondering what’s the best way to lower Blood pressure. I had a normal blood pressure checked before and I am afraid to get hypertension. Are there any foods I should eat rather than medications? Thank you.
Answer:
The only way to know whether you have Hypertension is of course by testing it, so I can’t answer your question without knowing what it is.
You can read more here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/hypertension
Patients with hypertension are at an increased risk for developing heart disease and/or stroke. You can calculate your risk here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/risks-benefits/cardiovascular-risk
Before using any more drugs, I’d recommend lifestyle changes, including:
- Losing excess weight.
- Exercising.
- Limiting alcohol to 2 drinks/day for men and 1 drink/day for women.
- Cutting back on salt.
- Quitting smoking.
- Following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
For more information about medications, go here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-disease-treatment/heart-disease-med
The Dash diet:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/patients/diet/the-dash-diet
The DASH eating plan is a low-fat and low-saturated-fat diet that emphasizes eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods.
Hope this helps,
Dr T
https://www.cardiachealth.org/