Tips To Lower Your Blood Pressure

Having high blood pressure can not only damage your heart, but it can also damage your blood vessels and lead to stroke and kidney failure.

Everyone should have their blood pressure checked at least once or twice per year by your doctor or health clinic. Many hosptials are also known to have special health monitoring days every now and then where you can have this checked for free. Another alternative is to use one of the blood pressure self check stations you find at your local pharmacy. When you donate blood your pressure is checked too.

If your diagnosis is on the high side, these are some tips to lower your blood pressure:

1. Stop smoking. Smoking restricts your blood vessels and can increase your heart rate. When your heart beats faster, it causes an increase in your blood pressure.

2. Lose weight if you are overweight. Too much excess weight causes your heart to work harder and faster, which can make your pressure rise.

3. Reduce sodium in your diet. Check food labels and do not add extra salt to your meals. Salt can make your blood pressure rise if you are already having problems with it.

4. Exercise regularly. 30 minutes of exercise should be a part of your daily routine. This is not all that difficult to do either. Walk, go to the gym, swim, and bicycling are some good examples of things to do.

5. Limit alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol can increase your blood pressure. If it does, it is advisable that you do not drink alcohol at all. If you must drink, limit it to one drink per day.

6. Keep stress under control. Stress can literally kill you! Try using deep breathing exercises, meditation, yoga or visualization. If none of these work, talk to your doctor about it.

The sooner you make changes in your lifestyle to reduce your blood pressure, the better. If these adaptions to your life make no difference at all to your levels, your doctor will advise you to take blood pressure medication. When this happens, you will most likely stay on these types of medications for the rest of your life.