Blood Pressure

Are you aware of the new guidelines for hypertension, or high blood pressure? This is the first comprehensive set of new guidelines since 2003, now lowering the definition of high blood pressure and accounting for nearly half of the U.S. adult population. (I was very surprised too to see this percentage in my research.) This will mostly be affecting younger people, tripling the diagnosis for men under the age of 45 and doubling for women under 45 years old. I understand this change in definition to be a proactive approach to reducing cardiovascular risk, not necessarily suggesting all those of us with certain numbers get on medication. This change will more assertively encourage us to take action with lifestyle changes that are known to reduce blood pressure.

New Guidelines for Hypertension

Blood pressure categories in the new guidelines are:

• Normal: Less than 120/80 mm Hg;
• Elevated: Systolic between 120-129 and diastolic less than 80;
• Stage 1: Systolic between 130-139 or diastolic between 80-89;
• Stage 2: Systolic at least 140 or diastolic at least 90 mm Hg;
• Hypertensive crisis: Systolic over 180 and/or diastolic over 120.

If you aren’t clear on these terms, “systolic” is the top number in a blood pressure reading and is the maximum pressure your heart exerts while beating. “Diastolic” is the lower number and is the amount of pressure in your arteries between beats. So, to further clarify, blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the vessel walls. When it is considered high, there may often be no specific symptoms until it becomes severe. When it is critical, one may experience headaches, shortness of breath and nosebleeds. Hypertension can be primary, without any seeming cause, or it may be secondary, caused by an underlying reason like kidney disease, thyroid imbalance, medications, or illegal drug use such as cocaine.

You May Have Some Say in the Matter

There are some understood risk factors that are controllable, some more easily than others. For example, having excessive weight on your body makes it harder for your heart to pump oxygen rich blood and nutrients throughout your body. So then more blood needs to be delivered to the tissues and this increased volume puts greater pressure on the artery walls to get the job done. Being inactive leads to higher heart rates. The higher the heart rate, the harder the heart is working and the greater the force on the artery walls. It has also been seen that smoking a cigarette can raise the blood pressure for up to an hour following inhaling the chemicals. Smoking also almost immediately narrows the arteries, causing an increase in pressure in these vessels. Salt naturally causes fluid retention and can increase the workload of the kidneys, ultimately elevating blood pressure for those who eat too much of it. Not having enough vitamin D from the sun has also been shown to increase the blood pressure, again through the kidneys’ work in the body. Many of us realize stress is a factor in blood pressure levels, with its effect on the nervous system and hormone levels.

Here are some commonly known tips, with relative reduction in blood pressure numbers. These are actions that can be taken with the goal of not depending on antihypertensive medication:

• For every 20 pounds of weight you lose you can drop your systolic blood pressure 5-20 points.
• Quitting smoking can naturally lower your blood pressure 5-10 points.
• Getting more exercisecan lower your numbers 5-15 points.
• Decreasing caffeine intake lowers your diastolic pressure by 4-13 points.
• Decreasing alcohol intake lowers your numbers 2-4 points.
• Avoiding all processed foods lowers your numbers 10 points.
• Decreasing salt intake or stopping altogether, up to 25 points.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables (how many times have you seen this suggested for any illness, let’s all take this step this year!)
• Use natural remedies like ginger, cardamom or hibiscus tea, the herb cat’s claw, enzyme CoQ10, supplement with vitamin D, eat more watermelon, use celery seed extract, use flaxseed powder more regularly, even a small square of dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure.
• Use regular acupuncture as part of these changes to help manage stress, improve blood circulation through the vessels, and reduce blood pressure.

I encourage you to do your own research, talk to your primary care provider, a naturopathic physician, a nutritionist, and an acupuncturist, to learn more about these suggestions. I hope you’re aware that you have some choices you can make and some power over hypertension if you find your blood pressure numbers to be in the upper ranges. What a good time of year to take some steps toward better health!