Natural Way To Lower Blood Pressure

I'm going to start this off with a little disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or medical practitioner, and offer this article for educational purposes only! If you aren't sure what your blood pressure is-get it checked by your doctor, and discuss treatment options with him or her.

Blood pressure is the pressure created in your arteries by your heart as it pumps your blood. When this blood pressure becomes excessive, it's called high blood pressure or HBP.

Blood pressure is measured using a blood pressure cuff, which you place on your upper arm. This is a completely painless procedure that gives you a reading as two numbers such as 120/80mm Hg or "millimeters of mercury", your blood pressure is said to be "120 over 80". The first number is called "systolic pressure" which is the pressure recorded as the heart pumps blood through your arteries. The second smaller number is the "diastolic pressure" and this is the pressure between pumps or when the heart is filling with blood.

What your blood pressure numbers mean:

Systolic Pressure Diastolic Pressure

normal blood pressure less than 120 less than 80

pre-hypertension 120-139 80-89

hypertension over 140 over 90

High blood pressure or HBP affects nearly 70.6 million people in the United States alone and an estimated 1 billion worldwide. Also known as hypertension HBP is known as the "silent killer" as 20% of those 70.6 million people are unaware that they even have it, and that percentage is even higher worldwide! Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or kidney failure.

High blood pressure can be caused by obesity, lack of exercise, stress, some types of drugs (most notably stimulants), excessive salt intake, and the use of tobacco products, and may even have other contributing factors.

Even though hypertension may not display any symptoms, if you feel dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, low tolerance to exercise, episodes of confusion, or tightness, pressure, or pain in the arms or chest, these could all be warning signs, and a trip to your family doctor is in order.

This disease, aka "the silent killer" can lurk in the background for years , all the while, causing damage to your body! If you haven't had your blood pressure checked in a year or more (or six months if you have had HBP in the past, or have any of the risk factors) it is time to see your health care practitioner and have it checked.

Remember the risks are real, but high blood pressure tends to be very preventable and/or treatable. 

Prevention is the best "cure" for high blood pressure or hypertension! By living a healthy life style every day you may never suffer from hypertension in the first place (although there may be some genetics involved.) If you still develop HBP, take heart, as this disease can be very treatable.

You may find eating the right foods, losing weight, and getting some exercise can lower your blood pressure to an acceptable level. For more ways to prevent or lower your high blood pressure please visit my site.

Don't let this "silent killer" negatively affect your life or the life of a loved one. Get it checked at least once a year, or more often if you've had HBP before (or you can check it yourself at many drugstores in the US anyway.)

If you don't know what your blood pressure is, or are at risk of having HBP (that covers about everybody!) get it checked!! I can't stress this enough, as that is the only way to know what your own blood pressure is, and to know if you need to try to lower it.

If you find you suffer with high blood pressure, you need to take steps to try to reduce it! Don't put it off, as every day your blood pressure is too high you could be doing damage!

Here are some natural remedies and cures for HBP:

1.Eat foods low in calories, especially saturated fats. Choose instead foods such as grains, beans, nuts, fruits, vegetables, breads, etc...eat healthy foods!

2.Cut back, or eliminate alcohol, caffine, tobacco, and salt (you do need some salt, but more than likely would get enough in your diet anyway.)

3.Exercise regularly-get some exercise on a daily basis.

4.If you're over-weight-lose the excess weight-your heart will love you for it!

5.Make sure you get enough sleep every night.

6.Reduce the stress in your life.

7.Take a good muti-vitamin, and make sure you get enough potassium, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C daily.

8.Get enough omega-3 fatty acid in your diet, it comes naturally from fish, or you can take it as a supplement.

9.Take up meditation, yoga, or just practice slow controlled breathing daily, as this has been known to help lower high blood pressure.

10.Drink plenty of water every day! Can help you live a healthy happy life in so many ways.

11. Give up sodas, there is really not much good in soda...but a lot of bad;o(

12. Stay away from trans-fats...give up the fried goodies!