High blood pressure, what is it?

High blood pressure is the same thing as hypertension.  It is when the blood is putting more pressure on the arterial walls and the cardiovascular system. Blood vessels tightens and constrict making your heart beat harder to circulate blood. In short, your blood moves through your body at a higher pressure than is normal or healthy.

Does smoking affect blood pressure?

A few lines higher I mentioned how blood pressure constricts when blood pressure is high and vice versa, well smoking or using tobacco products does the same thing and as such blood pressure is extremely likely to increase. Smoking also makes you heart beat faster, again a temporary boost of blood pressure. Quitting smoking is of course a nobrainer if you have high blood pressure but also to prevent it… why smoke anyway? And if you say because it relaxes you, well it is actually the deep breaths you take that do that, nicotine is only felt after 20 minutes of smoking…yeah that’s right, when you say “time for another cigarette I feel stress coming back” you are actually starting to feel the tension caused by nicotine in your blood stream. Now if breathing deeper helps you relax, imagine if you took the cigarette out of the way when you do it!

What if I start to exercise and lose weight?

Bravo, this is a good start, in fact in some cases the cause of the high pressure might have been caused by the stress caused on your system due to the extra weight. What will really do it is maintaining the healthy weight once it is achieved. Regular exercise is the real ticket when it comes to lowering and maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure. Consult your General practitioner before major changes to your lifestyle as too much too soon can also be detrimental to your possibly weakened cardio vascular system as well as demoralizing and discouraging. Taking things slow will let your system get use to it and allow you to realize your full potential.

What does sodium have to do with it?

Sodium is well known to increase blood pressure in some people and if you have heard that sodium does not affect everyone in the same way, well you are right but it’s like playing Russian roulette, the firearm would not affect all players the same way yet you don’t have to think long before deciding not to play that game do you. So instead of thinking that you can choose what you think affects you, how about you try cutting back and see if it helps. Having a low sodium diet is a wise dietary choice for everyone but even more important for people who already have a high blood pressure, the elderly and people with cardiovascular problems. It is said that people with a healthy blood pressure should stay under 2,300mg of sodium intake per day, while people afore mentioned should limit it to 1500mg per day. Consult your physician about limiting your sodium intake as it might be suggested you limit it further or in some cases that you increase your intake. (remember there is such as thing as low blood pressure) Here is an example I like…

Last year a food chain specializing in friend chicken, will not be naming them, came out with a chicken sandwich composed of no bread, I repeat, no Bread! Bacon, cheese and a fatty salty sauce, apparently very tasty too, all of this sandwiched in between two deep fried chicken breasts as stand-ins for the bread. This had become a permanent menu item in the states as part of a combo with fries and a drink while it was available in Canada for a month only while it was tested to see if the Canadian palette would care for it. This sandwich was a fatty beast of course and made the word Junk food seem healthy, I suggest using the world Ultimate Junk food, this intensely oversized meat monstrosity obviously designed to feed a small family of bears before hibernating over the winter months boasts a 2500mg of sodium per serving! Holy Hannah! Meaning that if you ate one on an empty stomach without having the combo or eating anything else that day you would be over the maximum! If you decide to try it, ask without the bacon on it’s own and eat nothing else that day, I will have oatmeal!

Of course avoiding foods high in sodium is easy, or is it? Junk food like French fries, chips etc is easy but what about the foods that high sodium yet have a healthy reputation? Bread may have a great PR because it is often high in sodium, canned food is also a not so obvious culprit, soups, cheeses and some diet pops (sodas, colas) can all increase your sodium intake while you think you are doing fine avoiding the obvious junk foods. Read your labels and get to know how much sodium is in your food! Medications can also be high in sodium, ask your pharmacist. And of course, don’t add salt to your food, it usually already contains a lot of salt, any processed food will usually be high in sodium so no salt, your arteries will thank you…for a long bloody time!

I heard that drinking alcohol is good for the heart; do I need to stop drinking?

The saying is that one glass of wine a day is good for your health and indeed it is, not all people react the same way to alcohol, for some it will increase blood pressure, for some it will not.

Limiting yourself to one drink a day, be it a glass of wine of 4 to 5 ounces, a beer or a shot of hard liquor. If you see that it does not increase your blood pressure then you are home free, if it does however, forget about alcohol altogether as it is not doing you any good.

Can stress or anxiety affect someone’s blood pressure?

You bet, we see it all the time, like partners in crime. Although stress can affect everyone in different ways, one of the thing stress does is pump adrenaline in your system to make your heart beat faster to be ready to react to dangers or predators. Now you may be saying, work is not a predator, why am I stressed at work? Well to you work is no predator but to your body, it is. Listen to your body! Over time a constant flow of adrenaline will cause damage to your circulatory system by increasing your blood pressure. Of course since stress can cause high blood pressure means one thing, relaxation and stress relief can reduce it! 

So don’t just count on medication to do the work while you keep smoking, stressing out and eating poorly, get involved and be proactive! Make changes to your lifestyle!

What Lifestyle changes can you make to reduce High blood Pressure?

• Quit smoking and never use any tobacco product ever again! Need I say more?

• Be light on your feet! Shedding those extra pounds is not just good for your wardrobe, wallet or self esteem but also your circulatory system.

• Relearn how to eat! A Nutritionist can be your best bet to learn how to include more fruits and vegetables to your diet; they are fat free and nature’s fast-food!

• Reduce your caffeine intake as well as sodium and alcohol.

• Introduce physical activity in your life; your heart is a muscle, make it stronger!

• Learn relaxation techniques such as self hypnosis, yoga, meditation etc. Seek help for this.