High blood pressure or hypertension -...

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High blood pressure or hypertension

High blood pressure is a chronic diseaseand, once you have it, you have it the restof your life.Your doctor or nurse will help you to learnto live with it while maintaining a goodquality of life.

Lifestyle changesMany people with high blood pressuremanage to control it by simply eating lesssalt, losing excess weight and exercisingregularly.

To eat less salt: avoid processed andcanned foods, broth cubes, smoked orcured meats and fish. Cook without salt.

Substitute herbs, garlic, onions, pepper,lemon juice orvinegar for salt.At restaurants askthat no salt beadded to yourfood.Grill, boil or steamwhen cooking.Use olive oil.Stop smoking, donot drink muchalcohol.D e v e l o p a nexercise routine

appropriate to your age and health.You should walk at least 3 times a weekfor 30 minutes at a brisk pace.Learn to check your blood pressure athome.Your doctor or nurse will explain how todo so and which device is the mostappropriate.

MedicationIf medicines are prescribed for you, youwill probably have to continue taking themfor the rest of your life.Establish a daily routine so you neverforget to take your medicine.

If you notice that you do not feel well orif you have any questions, always consultyour doctor, nurse or pharmacist.Some medicines, such as aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, effervescent tabletsor powder, cold medicines, etc. can causeyour blood pressure to rise.Likewise, if you are thinking about takingsome sort of homeopathic,herbal or other remedies, consult yourdoctor first.

We talk about high blood pressurewhen our blood pressure rises abovenormal levels (140/90 or 130/80 inpeople with diabetes). It can cause damage to your brain(stroke), heart, kidneys and arteries. If, in addition, you smoke, drinkalcohol,are overweight, do not exercise,are stressed or eat too much fat, thedamage can be much worse.