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Wednesday, November 15, 2017

How Do I Lower My Blood Pressure?

As I wrote in my last blog post, the AHA/ACC earlier this week released new guidelines for the management of hypertension (HTN or blood pressure). The biggest change to these guidelines is the new definition of high blood pressure...

  • Now anyone with a blood pressure > 130/80 is classified as having Stage 1 HTN
  • Anyone with a blood pressure > 140/90 is classified as having Stage 2 HTN
The treatment recommendations have also been changed...
  • Stage 1 HTN with increased cardiac risk should be treated medically to BP < 130/80 + adopt aggressive life style modifications known to lower BP
  • Stage 1 HTN with no increased cardiac risk should adopt aggressive life style modifications known to lower BP
  • Stage 2 HTN should be treated medically + adopt aggressive life style modifications known to lower BP
So, what are some of the known life sytle modifications we can adopt that are known to lower BP
  • Eat a low salt diet or specifically follow the DASH Diet 
  • Lose weight 
  • Exercise (30-45min at least 3-5x week)
  • Decrease alcohol intake (no more than 2 glasses/day for men and 1 glass/day for women)
  • Avoid supplements known to raise BP (ephedra, St John's wort)
  • Avoid medications known to raise BP (amphetamines, decongestants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs/NSAIDs (ibuprofen/Advil and Celebrex), and prednisone
As with any of my recommendations, I suggest you discuss you BP/diet/medications with your physician

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