If you have high blood pressure, you can lower it with small lifestyle changes. Work with your doctor to develop a plan for lowering your blood pressure. Part of the plan may also include taking blood pressure-lowering medicine. However, your lifestyle changes will be just as important.

Path to improved health

How do tobacco products affect blood pressure?

The nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products causes your blood vessels to constrict and your heart to beat faster. This temporarily raises your blood pressure. When you quit smoking or using other tobacco products, you can lower your blood pressure. Stopping tobacco significantly lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke.

What about losing weight and exercising?

If you’re overweight, losing weight usually helps lower blood pressure. Regular exercise is a good way to lose weight. It also seems to lower high blood pressure even if you don’t lose weight. And even a 5 pound weight loss can bring down blood pressure significantly if you are overweight.

Is sodium really off limits?

Not everyone is affected by sodium. However, sodium can increase blood pressure in some people. Most Americans who have a healthy blood pressure should limit the sodium in their diet to 2,300 mg per day. African Americans, older adults, and people who have high blood pressure should limit the sodium in their diet to 1,500 mg per day. Your doctor may tell you to limit your sodium even more.

To lower your sodium intake, don’t add salt to your food. Check food labels for sodium. Some foods, such as potato chips, obviously have a lot of sodium. But you may not realize how much sodium is in food like bread, canned vegetables, soups, and cheese. Also be aware that some medicines contain sodium.

Do I need to quit drinking alcohol?

In some people, alcohol causes blood pressure to rise quite a bit. In other people, it doesn’t. If you drink alcohol, limit it to no more than 1 drink per day for women or 2 drinks per day for men. One drink is a can of beer, a glass of wine (4-5 oz.), or 1 shot (jigger) of liquor. If your blood pressure increases when you drink alcohol, it’s best to not drink any alcohol.

Does stress affect my blood pressure?

Stress may affect blood pressure. To combat the effects of stress, try relaxation techniques or biofeedback. These things work best when used at least once a day. Ask your family doctor for advice.

Do other health conditions cause high blood pressure?

A little more than half of people who have diabetes have high blood pressure too. Talk to your doctor about other health conditions that could be causing your high blood pressure.

How can I know if changing my lifestyle is helping?

One of the best ways to know if what you are doing is working is to see for yourself. Consider buying a home blood pressure monitor. Use it to see whether what you are doing is lowering your blood pressure numbers. Ask your doctor to recommend a monitor.

Even if doing the things mentioned in this article don’t decrease your blood pressure, they still will promote your overall health and are worth continuing.

Things to consider

Not lowering your blood pressure puts you at higher risk for certain diseases. These can include:

• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Kidney disease
• Early death

Questions to ask your doctor

• What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?
• What is considered normal blood pressure?
• Can I lower my blood pressure through lifestyle changes alone?
• What are the side effects of blood pressure medicine?
• Could any medications I am taking raise my blood pressure?

Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Manage High Blood Pressure

National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus: Controlling Your High Blood Pressure

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Blood pressure is the amount of force that your blood puts on your artery walls as it moves through your body. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) occurs when your blood moves through your arteries at a higher pressure than normal. Many different things can cause high blood pressure. If your blood pressure gets too high or stays high for a long time, it can cause health problems. That is why it is important to treat high blood pressure. Medicines are one of the most common methods of treatment.

Path to improved health

There are many types of medicine used to treat high blood pressure. Your doctor will decide which type of medicine is right for you. These are the most common:

• ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) keep your body from making the hormone angiotensin II. This hormone causes blood vessels to narrow. This type of medicine relaxes your blood vessels and opens them up.
• Alpha blockers help relax your blood vessels by reducing nerve impulses. This allows your blood to pass through more easily.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) block the effects of the hormone angiotensin II. This hormone causes blood vessels to narrow. This type of medicine allows your blood vessels to stay open.
• Beta blockers make the heart beat slower so that blood passes through your blood vessels with less force.
• Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) prevent calcium from entering the cells of your heart and arteries. This helps keep your blood vessels from contracting with extra force.
• Central agonists reduce the nerve impulses that cause the blood vessels to tense up or contract. They work the same way as alpha and beta blockers, but they follow a different nerve pathway.
• Diuretics (water pills) help your body get rid of extra sodium (salt) and water. This reduces the amount of fluid flowing through your blood vessels and lowers your blood pressure. These will make you urinate more.
• Vasodilators (blood vessel dilators) relax the muscles in the blood vessel walls. This causes the blood vessels to widen (dilate) so blood can flow through better.

Things to consider

All medicines can have side effects. Some possible side effects of high blood pressure medicines include:

• Chest pain, heart palpitations (the feeling that your heart is racing), or arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)
• Cough, fever, congestion, upper respiratory tract infection, or flu-like symptoms
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Headache
• Nausea
• Nervousness or anxiety
• Problems with erections and sexual function
• Skin rash
• Tiredness, weakness, drowsiness, or lethargy (lack of energy)
• Unintended weight loss or gain
• Vomiting

Tell your doctor as soon as possible if your side effects become severe or bothersome.

What about medicine interactions?

If you use 2 or more medicines at the same time, the way your body processes each one can change. When this happens, the risk of side effects from each medicine increases. Each medicine may not work the way it should. Be sure your doctor knows all the medicines you are taking. These include prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Also ask your doctor whether you need to avoid any foods or drinks while using your blood pressure medicine. For example, people taking certain CCBs may need to avoid eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice.

Questions to ask your doctor

• What type of blood pressure medicine is best for me?
• How does this medicine work?
• What are the side effects of this medicine?
• How long will I need to take this medicine?
• Are there any lifestyle changes I can make to lower my blood pressure?

Resources

American Heart Association: What You Should Know About High Blood Pressure and Medications

U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus: Blood Pressure Medicines

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